A Long Way Home
by summergirl404
Summary: On the way home from a quest Arthur, Merlin and the knights are attacked by Odin's men. Odin wants Arthur dead, but instead he discovers why the king is so hard to kill. When Emrys is revealed, exactly how far will Odin go in order to gain control over him? Reveal!fic Merlin!whump Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi!**

 **This is my first story, so I would really love to hear what you think of it. Did you hate it, did you love it? Tell me ;)**

 **Also, I do not own Merlin. If I did there would be a lot more than 5 seasons...**

"I swear that slaver was at least a head taller than Percy over here," Gwaine ensured the group as they rode towards Camelot.

The group were on their way home after a three week long quest. Camelot had received word about a small band of slave traders who had been raiding and kidnapping children in the outer regions of the kingdom. Arthur had taken his most trusted knights and gone to personally handle the men who had mistreated his people in such a horrible way. It had taken time, but in the end they had found and disposed of the criminals, freed all the captured children and returned them to their families. Despite the long and tiresome quest the group were in a great mood. Nothing made Arthur happier than seeing his people happy and it quickly spread to Merlin and the knights.

"Oh, so that's the reason why he knocked you to the ground, was it?" Merlin asked Gwaine with a sly smile.

Arthur, Leon, Percival, Elyan and Merlin all laughed as Gwaine grumbled about the so called giant.

"Well at least I wasn't the one to get captured!" Gwaine shot back.

"Merlin was supposed to get captured, it's called being bait." Leon called back to Gwaine with a smile on his face.

Gwaine gave up on the subject of his almost-defeat and decided to change subject instead.

"I still don't get why we did that. I mean what would we have done if they actually got away with Merlin or, even worse, if they just killed him on the spot when they captured him?"

The group quieted down a bit. Using Merlin as bait had been a tough decision that none of them really wanted to make, but it had been the only way to get the slavers to show themselves.

"Gwaine, we have been through this. Because I'm a servant they didn't see me as a threat and which meant that the highest probability was that they would take me to the missing children. Besides, you were right there if anything would have gone wrong." Merlin said with a soft smile.

Arthur shuddered at the thought of Merlin being sold as a slave. He wouldn't have been able to live with himself if anything had gone wrong. Hell, he had almost punched Merlin when he told them of his idea, but he knew too that it had been the only way to lure the criminals out of hiding. Even if the plan had been a complete success and Merlin was unharmed, he still feared Guinevere's reaction when she would find out just how they managed to find the missing children.

"Help! Please, help me!" The desperate scream tore through the trees and seemed to momentarily stop time. The knights didn't even spare each other a glance before they set off to help. Someone needed them and they where honor bound to protect, they didn't need the order to know what cause of action to take.

"Please! Anybody?!" Merlin had a bad feeling about all of this, but he felt strangely drawn towards the screams. He needed to get there. He needed to save her. Because this time he was honor bound too.

They got closer and closer and after a short amount of time they found her. She was running, limping slightly, her clothes were torn and dirty and she had tears streaming down her cheeks. She was clearly a Druid. And she couldn't have been more than twelve years of age. She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the Knights, but then she turned her eyes to Merlin and visibly relaxed.

 _Emrys?_

Merlin met her eyes.

 _Don't worry, you're safe now. Arthur won't hurt you, he is not his father. What is your name?_

 _Luna._

MeanwhileArthur had gotten of his horse and slowly started to approach the girl. Her gaze shifted to Arthur and despite what Emrys had said she flinched back a little. Arthur held out his hands to show her that he meant her no harm.

"It's okay" Arthur said slowly,"I will not let any harm come to you, you have my word."

The girl looked beyond relieved and suddenly ran into Arthur's open arms and began to sob quietly.

"Please don't let them take me again", she begged.

"Who are you talking about?" Arthur asked carefully as he softly returned her embrace.

Merlin quickly turned his head to the left as he clearly heard a twig snap. He let his gaze wander slowly through the trees and then back to Arthur and the druid girl to try to ease his feeling of them being in danger. The birds had gone silent and the woods was suddenly all too quiet for Merlin's liking. Something was up.

"Arth..."

All hell broke loose. Soldiers came at them from every direction, running out from behind the trees. Arthur let go of the girl and pushed her behind himself to protect her. The knights slid down from their horses and drew their swords, ready to protect their King. They were vastly outnumbered and this time even Gwaine didn't like the odds.

"Merlin!" Arthur hollered as he pushed the druid in Merlin's direction and proceeded to fight the enemy soldiers. Merlin took hold of the girl and, managed to dodge a sword and miraculously, almost magically, got himself and Luna out of harms way.

"Stay down, Luna," Merlin said softly,"everything will be just fine." Luna nodded and obediently sank down behind a tree. Merlin turned his eyes to the fight. The knights were mostly unharmed sporting only a couple of scratches, but even the knights of Camelot had their limits. They were all tired after the long quest and the soldiers just kept coming. It was only a matter of time before the enemy would get the upper hand.

 _Time to turn the tides,_ Merlin thought as his eyes flashed gold.

"Lord Emrys?"

"What is it, Luna?" Merlin answered without turning his eyes away from the fight where he had just dropped another branch on an enemy soldier trying to sneak up on Leon.

"Emrys!" startled by Luna´s scream Merlin turned around only to come face to face with a man holding a knife to the young girl´s throat. His glare turned cold as he met the soldier´s eyes.

"Let her go."

The man´s smile simply widened at Merlin´s words.

"Now why would I do that? I have you exactly as I want you."

Merlin tightened his jaw and bore his eyes into this advisory. For a brief moment he considered using magic to turn him into something utterly awful and just be done with this arse, but with that knife pressed against Luna's throat... he just couldn't take the chance. Instead he chose to keep talking-to the man while finding another way out of this situation. "And how is that?"

"Distracted." The single word was whispered into his ear by a new deep voice. Before Merlin could react something was brought down on the back of his head and he fell into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

When Merlin woke up he took in his surroundings piece by piece. When opening his eyes he had come to several conclusions. One; his hands were tied tightly behind his back. Two; his head hurt like hell. Three; someone was dragging him somewhere, possibly to the their leader and, if he had luck on his side, to Arthur. And four; if Arthur and the knights hadn't by some miracle defeated the small army of soldiers, without any magical aid whatsoever, they were in deep trouble.

Merlin was dragged into a clearing and thrown to the ground. He looked up and immediately locked eyes with Arthur who sat on his knees on the other side of the clearing with the knights all seated behind him.

Merlin subconsciously checked Arthur for injuries and was mildly relived that he only seemed to have a few minor wounds that would be easy to treat once they escaped. Arthur did the same to Merlin, looking for the typical signs his manservant usually would show if he was in pain. He became slightly worried about the dried blood running down from Merlin´s forehead and concluded that he must have been knocked out during the fight. Finding no further injuries on him, Arthur adverted his eyes from Merlin to their captors.

Arthur let his blazing sapphire eyes wander around the clearing. He met every pair of eyes who would dare to look into his with unwavering determination and strength.

"I am Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot. If you value your lives you will free the druid girl, my Knights, my manservant and myself."

Arthur's voice was filled with confidence and even as he stood on his knees, surrounded and with his hands bound tightly behind his back he still had a remarkable effect on the men. Many quickly adverted their eyes to the ground, while others shrunk back a bit or uncomfortably shifted.

"And what will you do if we refuse, _King Arthur?_ " Sneered a cold voice from behind a group soldiers. The soldiers stepped out of the way as a man, quite obviously their leader, stepped forward. Arthur's expression darkened as he recognized the man.

"General Ricon", Arthur greeted as his cold eyes narrowed. Merlin and the knights froze for a second as they realized who this man was and who had ordered their capture. General Ricon had quite the rumor himself, he was merciless, bloodthirsty and enjoyed watching people suffer, but what really worried the group about Ricon's presence was his employer whose hatred for Arthur almost competed with the lady Morgana herself.

"I´m curious, what do you think about my battle strategy?" he continued, ignoring Arthur´s greeting. "Did you really think it a coincident that our little prisoner would manage to _escape_ at this particular location where King Arthur and his noble knights just _happened_ to pass through?" The general waved the soldier holding the druid girl forward. Her pale face was stained with fresh tears. "Really it was too easy. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist saving an innocent child and when a little bird told me that you would be passing through here, I just couldn't resist." A cruel smile rested upon his lips as he revealed his plan to Arthur who was becoming increasingly enraged.

"You damn coward! What kind of man uses a child as bait?!" Arthur snapped at the man who simply looked down at him with an amused expression. "What has Odin sent you to retrieve from us this time, Ricon? Will you try rob Camelot of her riches? Demand ransom for our safe return? Or maybe simply bring me to him so that he can end my life himself?"

"Oh, Odin doesn't wish to talk to you this time, your highness." Ricon sneered with a wicked smile on his face. "We don't know how you've done it, but you always seem to slip through our fingers. He has had enough talking. Now Odin simply wants your head on a plate for killing his son, so this time I won't bother with the rest of you."

"Really? The 'head on a plate' thing, you couldn't have thought of anything a tad more original than that?"

Ricon spun around to see who had been foolish enough to interrupt his conversation with the king of Camelot. Behind him was a lanky young man with pale skin and raven black hair, his hands tied behind his back sitting on his knees, with a disgusted expression on his face.

Ricon tilted his head and watched the boy with curiosity.

"And who", he started slowly as he took a step towards the boy,"might you be?"

The boy straitened his back and flashed the man a grin as he answered,"I'm the Kings manservant, Merlin."

Merlin's eyes met Arthur's and a wordless understanding passed between them. With Ricon and most of the other men now focused on Merlin, Arthur started trying to reach the emergency blade hidden in his left boot.

"And how come a dirty little servant like yourself got to join the famous knights of Camelot on a quest?" Ricon asked.

"What can I say, I'm quite lovely company."

"I seriously doubt that."

That gained a few laughs from his men, but the servant seemed completely unfazed.

"Well I cook too," Merlin continued,"I clean, feed the horses, collect firewood, I carry stuff, I am as close you can be to being a physician without actually being one, I clean wounds and I..."

"We get it, you have a lot of jobs." Ricon sighed, now mildly annoyed with this incompetent servant who obviously did not know when to shut up.

"I really do," Merlin answered seemingly in thought.

"And how long have you worked for the king, servant?"

"Between 5 and 6 years, the time just flies by."

"You wouldn't be interested in a change of masters then?"

Gwaine had to bite his tongue in order to stay silent. He hated the way the general was addressing Merlin right now. He feared what would become of his friend if they didn't escape soon. The knights were valuable and had information Odin would love to get his hands on, a servant on the other hand would serve no special propose unless they were kept as slaves or as some other sick kind of entertainment for the king.

Gwaine did not want to see that happen to Merlin. But he kept his mouth shut. He knew he couldn't risk drawing attention to Arthur right now. Arthur, who was, slowly but surely, cutting through the ropes on his wrists.

Merlin heard the change in the general's tone and regarded him with a guarded expression. "Thank you, but I'm perfectly happy where I am." He answered coldly.

"Are you absolutely sure, servant?" Ricon said with a wicked smile."I am actually in the current need of a new moving target. They unfortunately don't last very long. Maybe King Odin would require your services first. To have the former manservant of King Arthur himself as his personal slave, that would certainly amuse him."

If looks could kill, the general would have been dead ten times over. Not only did Merlin himself give him a death glare that would have made Arthur proud, which Arthur didn't quite notice as he was otherwise occupied, that however did not stop him and the knights from sending the man the coldest and most murderous glares they could muster.

 _Almost done_ , Arthur thought. _Almost done_.

"Don't you worry boy. Willingly or not, you will serve some porpoise in Odin's royal household." Ricon leaned down to meet Merlin's glare as he whispered the final part of his threat. "I will enjoy breaking you."

Ricon started turning back to Arthur and the knights, so Merlin took a deep breath. He didn't know how this would play out, but he did know defiance would give him consequences. Although as long as Arthur was saved he couldn't bring himself to care.

"I do not work for insolent, egocentric pigs who thinks themselves better than they are. Who treats the people they should protect as dirt under their feet. Who are unworthy in every single way to be in any position of power." Merlin shouted at the general with pride in his voice. " _I_ will never serve _you_."

Ricon immediately turned back to Merlin. _Well that definitely got his attention,_ Merlin thought to himself as he saw the enraged look on Ricon's face.

"Why you little..." Ricon stormed over to where Merlin was sitting on his knees, lacing his long fingers around his porcelain neck. He slowly started to apply more pressure, little by little cutting of Merlin's air supply.

Arthur watched with terror as Merlin gasped for air. He had to something fast. _Come on!_

Black spots was starting to dance before Merlin eyes, but he could still make out Ricon's words. "You have to be the single most annoying servant I have ever had the misfortune to meet. I would have enjoyed throwing knives at you, watching you scream in agony and than slowly and painfully bleed out when you finally couldn't take anymore, but I guess strangling you with my bare hands will just have to do." A crazed smile lit up his face as he squeezed Merlin's throat.

SNAP!

Arthur was on his feet in seconds after the ropes finally gave in. He didn't waste a single moment before he lunged himself at Ricon to get him of Merlin. Ricon's hands disappeared from his throat and Merlin slumped to the ground, gasping to get oxygen to his air deprived lungs.

Arthur had General Ricon pressed to the ground, lunging punch after punch.

"Don't you dare lay another hand onhim!" Arthur hissed as he kept punching the man.

Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, as Arthur had been too focused to stop the general from killing Merlin that he hadn't been able to develop an actual escape plan. He was supposed to have passed on the knife to the rest of his men and they would have surprised the enemy together. Then they would have had a chance of escaping, but Arthur had no choice, he had to act or Merlin would have died. And Arthur was never going to let that happen.

When the enemy soldiers got over the initial chock over that the king had somehow managed to free himself, they rushed forward to restrain him once more. Arthur gave them quite the fight, but one unarmed man against forty armed ones, the odds weren't in his favor.

A couple of minuets later Arthur was struck down by a blow to the head. It didn't look too serious, but it was enough for Arthur to lose focus and suddenly his hands were shackled behind his back. He was forced into a kneeling position, once again at the mercy of Odin's men.

Ricon got of the ground and slowly wiped some blood away from his lip while glaring at Arthur. Arthur met his glare with his own. The general marched over to the king hit him across his face. The knights fought their ropes violently, but in vain, the ropes wouldn't break.

"A little protective, are we, King Arthur?" Ricon sarcastically remarked. He nodded to two men standing behind Merlin and they pulled Merlin off the ground, so that he also was kneeling. They both stayed by either side of Merlin, a hand pressed to each of his shoulders, to hold him where he was. From where Arthur sat he could already see the bruises starting to form around Merlin's neck. In that moment he swore to himself that he would run Ricon through with his sword the second he got out of these shackles. But first he had to be sure that Merlin was alright.

"Merlin?" Arthur tried to keep his voice emotionless, but Merlin could hear the hidden worry. He lifted his head and gave Arthur a quick nod which Arthur returned.

Knowing that Merlin was alright Arthur turned his attention back to general Ricon. Arthur didn't even bother hiding the hate and fury he felt for the man anymore.

"Let my men go, Ricon. Your fight is with me."

"My dear Arthur, you fail to realize that Odin has good use of Camelot's knights." Ricon simply smiled at Arthur's obvious hatred towards him and continued to speak. "While you may know all of Camelot's secrets, your most trusted knights certainly knows a large number of them as well. And as Odin has ordered me to decapitate you the moment I caught you it would be nice to have another way of gaining information as well. Do not fret though, they will join you in the afterlife in no time."

Ricon slowly walked in a circle around Arthur where he sat kneeling on the ground looking like a child on christmas morning. "How I have longed for this moment." Then he drew his sword and gentle placed the tip under chin. "Any last words, Arthur Pendragon?"

Arthur looked up at him with pride in his eyes as spoke. "Camelot is stronger than her king. The true strength in Camelot lies in her people and the people of Camelot will never bow to you."

Ricon just kept smiling. "We'll see about that."

Ricon walked to Arthur's side and placed his sword on his neck to measure the blow. All the knights looked on in horror and once again thrashed against their ropes.

"You damn bastard!" Leon shouted with more rage than any of his friends had ever heard from him before. "I swear, I'll hunt you down and kill every single one of you if you strike that blow!"

The threat was accompanied by many others from the rest on the knights while they struggled to get free.

Merlin was panicking on the inside. Two things were clear, Arthur was in mortal danger and Merlin had to save him. But how would he do that without revealing himself? Or was it time for Arthur to know the truth? So many thoughts were rushing through his head and without even thinking about it he started calling out to Arthur. Arthur turned his head to where Merlin sat kneeling on the ground, seemingly helpless. Merlin's terrified eyes met Arthur's calm ones as Arthur sent Merlin what was supposed to be a reassuring smile.

And then Ricon raised the blade over Arthur's head.

* * *

 **Yes, I know, cliffhanger! Thoughts?**

 **Love,**

 **summergirl404 ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

"NOOOOOOO!" Merlins scream echoed through the clearing and time seemed to slow down. The sword that was intended to part the King's head from his shoulders was glistening in the sunshine as it slowly made it's way to Arthur's neck. The Knights watched with terror and agony as their leader and friend was moments from his doom. In that second it seemed as though all hope was lost.

Then that second passed and hopelessness was replaced by utter and complete confusion. Because the spot where Arthur only a second ago had been standing on his knees was now empty with no sign whatsoever of Camelot's ruler. Gwaine adverted his gaze to his fellow knights for conformation that his eyes had not deceived him just to find Percival, Elyan and Leon just as dumbfounded. After another few seconds of total silence in the clearing Gwaine leaned closer to his friends to say what everyone was thinking.

"Arthur did just vanish into thin air, right?"

On the other side of the clearing Merlin remained in the same position he had been before the confusion had broken out. He was being held down by two muscular men with his hands bound tightly behind his back. It wasn't exactly a great position to be in, but despite of his position and the rather confusing scene that was displayed before him, Merlin had a broad smile on his face.

"WHERE ARE OUR PRISONERS?! WHERE IS ARTHUR PENDRAGON?! WHERE ARE THE KNIGHTS OF CAMELOT?!" General Ricon hollered through the forest.

Now that confused the knights even more. They were still right here, were they not? How could he not see them?

"Does anyone have any type of explanation to why the idiot seems to think we suddenly seized to exist?", came a whisper just beside Leon. All four of the knights heads whipped towards the voice and could not quite believe it when none other than Arthur himself was suddenly sitting there right besides them.

"B-but Si-ire, yo-you were... and the-then", Leon sputtered weakly as he looked at Arthur with confusion. Arthur looked back with just as confused. At any other time Gwaine would have found it extremely entertaining to see Arthur and Leon so utterly clueless, but right now even Gwaine just wanted to know what was going on. Just as Leon was about to open his mouth again he was interrupted by another yell from their former captor.

"YOU!"

The knights adverted their wide eyes to the occupants of the clearing to see the leader of the band march over to were Merlin was being held down. Arthur's heart sank when he realized that even though he and his knights appeared to be out of harms way his friend(yes, he admitted it. No, he was not telling Merlin) was far from it.

Odin's General ripped Merlin violently to his feet by his neckerchief. "What did you do, boy?" His voice was laced with poison, but Merlin kept his mouth shut and simply met his eyes with determination and loyalty. The Knights felt pride surge through them as they saw Merlin hold his ground against the enemy. None of them had ever questioned his bravery or the amount of loyalty the servant had for their king or Camelot and yet they never got used to actually seeing it.

The man who still held Merlin's neckerchief in a death grip was breathing heavily, his eyes full of rage and his face growing increasingly red with frustration. When he realized that the servant had no intention to talk he angrily threw him to the ground.

"I *kick* KNOW *kick* THAT *kick* YOU *kick* DID *kick* THIS *kick*!" He screamed at the servant who lay helplessly on the ground trying to regain his breath.

It was about now Merlin realized that his plan had a few faults. Firstly, well of course he should have included himself in the invisibility spell... Secondly, when he had managed to save Arthur with first the short-distance teleportation spell followed by the invisibility spell to cover both Arthur and the knights he should have taken action and freed himself instead of just standing there with humongous grin on his face.

He knew that in all the confusion he could have just slipped away (with a little magical help), gotten to the knights, freed them and acted just as confused as they probably were by now. They would just have gone home and the whole thing would stay a mystery. But now Merlin knew they were watching him. Even though he could not see them he could feel their eyes on him. They were safe and as the situation was still a bit unclear the probability of the Knights thinking the magic to be his doing rather low, or at least a lot lower than it would be if he started go around blasting all of Odin's men into oblivion. So for now he decided to stay down until he could find a way to escape without revealing his magic. And preferably before he was kicked to death.

When Merlin was thrown to the ground Gwaine was thrown out of his daze and ready to jump into action to defend the man he looked upon as his best friend... only to find that ropes that held him and the knights before still was present. He and the Knights watched in agony as Merlin received several violent kicks to the stomach. None with more pain than Arthur who had started blaming himself for getting Merlin into this situation.

Merlin kept his eyes screwed shut as his breathing returned to normal. _Think, think, think. You need to get out of here._ He could already feel the bruises develop on his skin.

"You didn't really think no one would see what you did, you little freak?"

Arthur's hands balled into fists when he saw one of the cowardly nobles who had stayed back the entire fight step towards Merlin. No one was allowed to speak to Merlin like that.

He had greasy black hair that was far too long for Arthur's liking, long pale features, slender body and so pale blue eyes they could have been mistaken for grey. And right now they were filled with malicious glee.

"Lord Edmund." Ricon acknowledged with gritted teeth, his glare still boring into Merlin.

"You saw him too, didn't you?"

"Saw _what_ exactly?" Ricon looked on as the annoying lord walked closer to the servant on the ground.

"What he did during the fight. I wasn't sure until a moment ago when he did it again." Lord Edmund placed a foot on Merlins chest and with a rough nudge Merlin was lying on his back with the lord's foot putting pressure on his chest.

"You're a monster, aren't you?"

The Knights were looking on, angered and confused. What did this idiot lord imply Merlin had done during the fight? Why was he calling Merlin a monster?

Arthur was tugging on his shackles, trying with all his might to get himself loose. He was not liking the way those men were looking at Merlin. One with murderous eyes, longing for the servants blood, and the other with a crazed glint and a want to put this "monster" in it's place. Arthur was just praying that idiot was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

"At least I'm not a coward."

Arthur cursed Merlin's bravery. Or stupidity. Sometimes he really couldn't tell.

The lord's eyes hardened.

"What did you say to me?"

"My apologies, _my lord_ , I didn't realize that you were a deaf coward."

The lord's face turned increasingly red when he looked at the king's servant. He nodded to the guards standing behind Merlin and they heaved him of the ground and onto his knees.

Arthur cursed under his breath, struggling to get free. One wrong word from his servant and he would lose the first true friend he ever had.

"I am currently holding your life in my hands, freak," lord Edmund said slowly, trying with all his might to look powerful and dangerous,"I suggest you choose your words carefully if you would like to keep it."

"Oh please, you and I both know that you are not the boss here," Merlin answered with an eye roll,"you are simply a puppet kept around for no other reason that you happen to have some money that Odin and his men are in very much need of if they would ever dream to take Camelot. Which they never will, by the way. Do you have any idea of how many that have tried to either take over Camelot or turn her to dust? I have lost count. And do you know how many that have succeeded? None. And neither will you. You are just a pathetic and greedy excuse for a lord serving an even more pathetic and greedy excuse for a king!"

The knights of Camelot were just sitting there with their jaws hanging open. Gwaine was the first to recover.

"That is what I call an insult." He grinned proudly.

Ricon brought his fist down on Merlin's jaw and his head snapped to the side.

"Never insult King Odin." He growled. Then he turned to Edmund with fire still blazing in his eyes. "Your point, please, lord Edmund."

The anger and frustration was still evident in the lord's features, but as he turned to face Ricon his face turned cold.

"The boy did magic, Ricon," he said slowly,"I'm certain of it."


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur kept his gaze glued to Merlin to see his reaction to this ridicules accusation. For once Merlin kept his mouth shut. He kept his eyes firmly on Edmund and simply waited for what was coming. The lack of response from Merlin worried Arthur the most. Merlin always had something to say, even in seemingly the most hopeless situations he would be babbling nonstop, so why wasn't he denying this ridiculous accusation now?

"Does anyone else have a horrible feeling about this?" Leon quietly asked. His fellow knights nodded their heads but did not turn their gaze from their friend on the other side of the clearing.

Like Arthur had before, Percival also noted the lack of cheekiness in Merlin. Percival had seen Merlin face many dangers at Arthur's side during his time in Camelot, but never before had he seen Merlin react the way he had reacted the moment he had been accused for having magic. He suddenly looked old, like a man who had seen far more than any man should, accepting his fate and awaiting his judgement.

"Hahaha" Ricon's laughter echoed through the trees. "You mean to tell me that this worthless little manservant, of King Arthur himself, is actually a sorcerer?"

Ricon kept laughing as if this was the funniest joke he had heard in his life. He did a small hand gesture to a couple of his men, before he turned back to Merlin. "Well servant, is this true? Are you a dirty little sorcerer?"

"I am not a sorcerer." Merlin said expressionlessly.

Ricon observed him with a calculating glare and a smirk started to grow on his face.

"I'm not quite sure I believe you." He said and gave a small nod to someone behind Merlin.

A hand roughly grabbed hold of Merlin's hair and exposed his throat to his companions. Merlin felt a wave of unease wash over him when something cold and heavy was forced around his neck. He heard a click as it was fastened and suddenly he couldn't breath. White hot pain unlike anything he had ever felt before surged through his body and he screamed. It felt like he was being torn apart from the inside and out.

Hands let go of him and he fell to the ground again, where he kept thrashing and begging for the pain to stop.

The knights were looking on, horrified. Elyan didn't know what to think, all of this was so confusing. What was that thing doing to Merlin? Did this mean Merlin had magic?

Gwaine and Arthur both panicked. They had never seen Merlin in this state before. Never before had they heard him scream in agony like this.

"MEEERLIN!" Gwaine shouted in despair. Nobody heard him. Arthur watched on, pale as a ghost and petrified.

"Is he supposed to react this strongly to the binding spell?" Edmund asked Ricon as he looked at Merlin in disgust.

"It depends," Ricon answered,"the runes are cutting off his connection to his magic. I have seen common sorcerers feeling unease and more powerful ones experiencing pain because of such technics, but I have never seen anyone react like this."

Ricon watched with fascination as Merlin tossed and turned on ground trying to escape the pain.

"Stop her!"

Several soldiers were sent flying as Luna came rushing past them towards Merlin. She reached him, crouched down on her knees beside him and took his head in her lap. He was sickly pale, shaking and his wide blank eyes were staring up at her without showing any signs of actually seeing her. The small girl looked up at their captors with the coldest glare she could muster. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold them of for long if needed, the adrenalin pumping through her veins could only get her that far.

She looked down to Emrys again, maybe she could ease his pain just a bit.

"I'm sorry, Emrys," she said, hating that wicked collar that was locked around his neck, as she laid her hand on his forehead,"I'm so sorry."

Ricon was just about to order his men to take the girl away when he heard the name the druid girl had called the servant by. A smile grew on his face when he realized exactly who was lying helpless at his feet. It all made sense, how Arthur miraculously had slipped through his fingers each and every time, how Camelot survived threats from the most powerful sorcerers and how they won every battle.

"What did you call him?" He noticed that the sorcerer had calmed considerably. Still pale as parchment, but at least his eyes seemed focused in a way they hadn't been a moment ago. The child turned her eyes from the servant to the general with her mouth shut. Ricon had had enough of her stubbornness and gave a signal for his men to take her away.

She tried to resist, but her efforts were in vain. In her stead Ricon took a step forward towards Merlin, with that wicked grin of his on face.

"Men, it seems we have another royal guest among us." He shouted out to his soldiers."All bow down to Lord Emrys, King of the Druids."

Arthur couldn't even process what was happening anymore. Everything was too much. Merlin had magic, Merlin suffered through some kind of torture, Merlin was the King of Druids. Everything seemed surreal and right now he was just wishing that he would wake up from this twisted nightmare. He wanted Merlin to pull the curtains from his windows and greet him with ' _rise and shine_ ' and he wanted all of this to go away.

Percival cursed his own stupidity. He had been raised in a place where magic wasn't forbidden and thereby he had met a number of druids who loved to speak about their prophesies. He had heard about Emrys and the once and future King. After the first chock of Merlin having magic, it really made a lot of sense. The boy rode alongside the knights into battle and mostly came out unharmed. It would also explain all the luck the knights seem to fight their enemies. Branches dropping, feet slipping, saddles breaking. Not to mention how many other times he must have saved their lives without their knowledge for it. They had so much to thank him for and this was how he was paid for his efforts.

"Odin is going to love this! You, the King's filthy little servant, his secret protector and the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth?" Ricon barked out a laughter.

"He's still alive, isn't he?" Merlin's voice sounded a lot more fragile than usual, but still there was that little cheekiness over it.

"Do you think I'm afraid of you, boy?"

"I have dealt with foes far worse than you, creatures you can only dream of. You couldn't imagine how many enemies a Pendragon has." Merlin looked him straight in the eye. "So if you're not afraid of me, then why don't you just take this collar of so we can have a nice little chat without any distractions?"

"Do you take me for a fool, boy?" Ricon sneered. "You are a slave of King Odin now, he will determine what will be done to you."

Two men came forward and pulled Merlin onto his feet. He barely had the strength to stand up himself, the soldiers had to carry the majority of his weight to keep him upright.

Ricon's horse was brought forward and the general opened his saddlebag to bring out a thin, dark chain. The chain looked to be made of roughly the same material as the collar around Merlin's neck. He walked up to Merlin with the chain in his hands fastened it to the collar. He smiled in malice as he tugged the chain harshly and made Merlin stumble to the ground.

"Imagine the irony if in the end it is you, someone who fought so hard to keep Camelot safe for so long, who ends up being her doom."

Merlin looked up on him through tired eyes. "I will die before I lift a finger against Camelot."

"We'll see about that." Ricon pulled the chain once more and forced Merlin up on his feet. He tied the chain to his horse and jumped up onto his saddle. "Come on, men, we ride home!"

"B-but, my l-lord," an anxious soldier stepped forward,"Ki-king Art-Arthur, s-sire."

"Leave him be," Ricon answered,"he won't last long without his magical protector. Will he _Emrys_?"

Merlin kept his head down, to exhausted to reply. He could feel every single cell of his body fighting the binding magic, but in vain. It was starting to mess with his head again. He didn't know how much longer he could stand it. For a while he had almost forgotten that Arthur and the knights were there with him. Almost.

Ricon let out another booming laughter as he started to lead his men home, without knowing that four knights and a king sat a few meters away looking on speechlessly. They watched in silence as Merlin was tied to the back of the general's horse, dragged away by the chain around his neck like an animal, stumbling and being unable to catch himself when he fell because his hands still were tied behind his back.

The few minutes it took for the company to get out of sight from the knights felt more like hours and Arthur was certain that he would never forget a single second of it.

* * *

 **Hi again guys! Thank you so much for your support! I promise to try to update as** **regularly as I can, but it might take a few days until I post next chapter.**

 **However, know that I really become motivated to keep writing when I receive reviews... So who knows, if you send a review, next chapter might just come a little bit sooner ;)**

 **Love,**

 **summergirl404**


	5. Chapter 5

None of the knights said anything for a long while after they were left alone in the clearing, all of them deep in thought. It must have been at least half an hour when they felt their ropes and shackles loosen around their wrist and slowly, still wordlessly, started to free themselves. They felt something shift around them and could only presume that whatever had protected them from the enemies eyes before was now gone too.

Arthur was the first to stand. He walked away from the others and kneeled down on the spot where Merlin had last been, facing away from his fellow knights. The others carefully observed him uncertain on what should be done next.

Not surprisingly, Gwaine was the first to actually speak.

"Come on, if we find our horses quickly, we might be able to catch up to them before they reach Odin's castle." Gwaine stood up with a grim, yet eager expression on his face. "We can't let them get away with Merl…"

"No, Gwaine," Leon replied with determination in his voice,"we are not going anywhere before we discussed what happened here."

"What exactly is it you feel we need to discuss, Leon?" Gwaine snapped. "The fact that Merlin saved Arthur from being decapitated or that he repeatedly said he would rather die than betray Camelot?"

"I was more referring to the fact that it seems he has powerful magic and apparently is king of the druids!"

"Well, did you expect him to tell you that? Camelot burns people with magic! It might be better now, but I have heard stories of Uther's reign. No wonder he was terrified to tell you his secret!"

"We have seen proof time and time again magic is a force of evil!" Leon raised his voice and took a step towards Gwaine.

"You can't honestly believe that Merlin is evil!" Gwaine shouted back. "Merlin is the kindest and bravest man I have ever met!"

"It doesn't seem like you know him as well as you thought you did. If he hid this from you, what else could he have hidden?"

Gwaine admitted that he was a bit hurt by the fact that Merlin hadn't trusted him with his secret, but he understood. Just knowing the identity of a sorcerer without reporting them would have given a man death penalty back when Uther was king. So naturally Merlin would want to keep it from the people he cared about to keep them out of danger.

"I know him better than you do and I would bet my life on that Merlin doesn't have an evil bone in his body."

"Oh, really?" Leon said sarcastically. "Because…"

"Stop it!" Arthur was up on his feet like a flash and turned around to face Leon and Gwaine with fire in his eyes. "Just stop it, both of you. Arguing won't do us any good."

"Then what are we to do, Arthur?" Elyan asked. He had been watching the fight, not knowing what to think.

Arthur sighed and adverted his eyes from his trusted friends, as if he was trying to find the answer among the trees. A number of feelings were still rushing through him. Hurt, betrayal, sadness, confusion. But he wasn't stupid, he had listened to what Ricon and Merlin had said.

' _You, the King's filthy little servant, his secret protector…'_

' _Imagine the irony if in the end it is you, someone who fought so hard to keep Camelot safe for so long, who ends up being her doom.'_

' _I will die before I lift a finger against Camelot.'_

Arthur knew, just as Gwaine knew, that Merlin wasn't evil. It hadn't taken all too long to figure out who had saved him and the knights. But that didn't mean it hurt any less. Because Merlin had still kept this from him and it felt like another betrayal, even if he told himself that it shouldn't.

"Arthur," Percival said carefully,"I know what you must think right now. Your father had strong opinions on the matter of magic, but don't let that cloud your judgement. I grew up in a village where magic was tolerated and druids often came passing through. The druid seers often sat down with us children and told us of their prophesies. I don't know if you are familiar with any of their tales?"

"No, my father never allowed my tutors to teach anything that was in any way related to magic." Arthur answered quietly. All the knights were listening carefully to what Percival had to say. He was a man of few words, but when he did speak he spoke with great wisdom.

"We all heard the name the druid girl called Merlin by," Percival continued.

"Emrys." Gwaine said, looking at Percival for confirmation.

Percival nodded. "One of the most common legends to be told was the one regarding Emrys and the Once and Future King. The once and future king is said to be the one to unite all of Albion and rule her through her golden age, the king can however only succeed with the support and council of Emrys, the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth."

Leon, Elyan, Gwaine and Percival all cast glances to see how Arthur reacted to what they had been told. Arthur showed no change in his calm expression, instead he urged Percival to continue.

"Percival, I can see that there is more to tell. Please, continue."

Percival sighed. "Just think about it. Think of every stroke of luck we have had during the years, every branch knocking our enemies to the ground, every defeat of a magical creature which was said only could be killed by magic. Every time Merlin has ridden into battle alongside us, lacking both armor and the knowledge of sword fighting, and how he time and time again comes out relatively unharmed."

"I knew it!" Gwaine suddenly shouted.

"When I first met you and Merlin" Gwaine gestured to Arthur,"I knew I saw those plates throwing themselves! God, I thought I was drunk…"

Despite the grave situation they were in, the knights couldn't resist smiling at Gwaine's antics.

"When we get him back I'm going to bring that man to the tavern, get him so drunk that he can't stand and then I'm going to question him about each and every time he has used magic in front of me without my knowledge." Gwaine vowed. He knew the chances of getting Merlin back were slim, but he forced himself to think they would succeed. He didn't know what he would do if they were too late. He didn't know if he could bring himself to stay in Camelot if Merlin was gone. And thereby he convinced himself that they would get him back.

"Oh, because you and Merlin don't spend enough time in the tavern already." Arthur remarked. He was smiling, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

Gwaine cast him a questioning look. "Merlin is never at the tavern."

"Yes, he is." Arthur said, looking at Gwaine with confusion. "Sometimes he's been there several days in a row."

"Princess, I know the tavern like the back of my hand and I have never seen Merlin there. Ever. Except for the times he's dragging me out of there of course."

The realization hit Arthur hard. "The tavern was just a cover." He said slowly. "How could I have been so stupid…" Merlin had probably been out fighting of magical beasts or something and Arthur had punished him for it. How he wished Merlin had just told him.

"Arthur, we have all been fooled. You had no way to know." Leon tried to reassure him.

"But I should have seen it!" Arthur argued. "He is with me each and every day! The worst part is that it makes sense, it explains things he has said, things I found odd at the time. It all makes sense and I failed to see it."

"Maybe you didn't want to see it at the time," Elyan said,"but that doesn't matter now. What matters is what we do now."

Arthur took a deep breath and nodded. "Right you are, Elyan." He looked at his knights, one by one, as he declared his decision. "Whether Merlin has magic or not we will not forsake him with those monsters. All the questions we have can be answered later. Now we bring him back."

Gwaine smiled. Percival's face shown with determination. Elyan stood tall. Leon nodded with a serious expression on his face. Arthur turned his gaze to the spot he had last seen Merlin.

 _Don't you worry, Merlin, we're coming for you._

* * *

 **There you go, another chapter complete! Thank you all for your continued support, every single review, follow and favorite I get makes me smile and keeps me motivated to continue on with the story.**

 **The next chapter will probably be up in a few days, but who knows, if you guys motivate me enough it might just be up sooner than that! ;)**

 **Love,**

 **summergirl404**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay so firstly I just want to say you guys are freaking amazing! Thank you so much for your support, it really means a lot.**

 **Now I didn't think I would do this, but because of the major feedback I received for chapter 5 I have decided to give you a treat. So here you go chapter 6 a couple of days early. This chapter is kinda short, but I hope you enjoy it anyway :)**

* * *

Merlin had lost track of time long before they reached their destination. He could feel his magic pulsating painfully under his skin, searching for a way through the barrier that had been built up inside him.

The trip could have taken years for all Merlin knew. Each step sent a surge of agony through his body. He had fallen more than once, when the pace became too much for him. When he did fall he was dragged by his collar, struggling to breath, he thought he could hear the soldiers laughing, but how could he be sure? He would suddenly find himself on his feet again, not sure how he had gotten up, as he kept stumbling forward behind the general's horse.

"Come on, _Lord Emrys,_ " Merlin heard Ricon say through the fog that seemed to have taken over his mind,"I'm sure you're anxious to see your new home."

Once again someone was tugging on his collar and he had no choice but to tag along. He was vaguely aware of dark stone walls standing tall around him. _Corridors,_ Merlin thought. After the corridors followed stairs, stairs that seemed to go down down down until you couldn't go deeper. It was dark, the air was thick and tasted of dirt and sweat, the only light coming from a torch which the guards had brought with them.

Merlin felt someone take a hold of the collar around his neck. The chain was removed, yet the collar stayed on. Soon after he felt the hands let go of him he was thrown onto the dirty floor of what he presumed was a cell.

"My lord, what about the girl?" A guard asked.

"Put her in the cell next to him for the time being," Ricon answered,"I will go to Odin and inform him of the envelopments. He will decide what fate awaits the prisoners."

"Certainly, my lord." The guard said and lowered his head as a sign of respect of his general.

Merlin heard the doors of the cells shut and through his blurry vision he could see the men walking away with the torch, taking the light with them. He was lost and alone in the darkness. He wondered where Arthur was. Did he hate him now that he knew? Would he abandon him here, now that he too, in some sense, had betrayed his trust? Or would he come here and bring him out of the darkness, so that he could kill him himself?

His head was pounding, he couldn't think straight. All of Merlin's worst fears were swirling in his head, twisting and turning, telling him he had lost it all.

"Emrys?" Came a soft voice in the darkness. "Emrys, move towards my voice."

Merlin quickly decided to do as the voice said, anything was better than being alone in the dark. He followed the voice, slowly crawling closer. At last his hands found the cold steel bars that separated him from the voice.

"I'm here," he rasped, his throat was so dry and bruised that he could barely speak,"where are you?"

"I'm right here, Emrys." The girl said softly. He felt her put her small hands on his, before one hand made it's way to his forehead. As soon as the hands touched his skin he could feel the fog lessen from his mind. The pain remained, ever present, but at least he could think straight once more.

"Luna?" He asked weakly.

"Yes, my lord?" Merlin let out a breath he was holding, beyond relived that the girl seemed relatively unharmed.

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you in anyway?" He had to make sure.

"I'm fine, Emrys." She answered quietly.

"Good." Merlin nodded in tiredly.

"Emrys, you should rest. You are exhausted and you need to regain your strength."

Merlin would have told her that he was fine too, that he didn't need to rest, but he already felt his eyelids getting heavy and could barely find the strength to reply at all.

"Just a couple of minutes," he said with a yawn. When his head touched the ground he was fast asleep. Luna kept her hand on Merlin's forehead.

"Sleep well, my lord," Luna said softly,"may you find peace in your dreams."

* * *

 **So here's the deal, I'm going away tomorrow and I'll be gone until Tuesday so I won't be able to write quite as much as usual. I'm hoping to post the next chapter on Monday. But, because I'm nice, if I received 10 reviews (or more ;)) I will post it on Sunday!**

 **Have an awesome weekend!**

 **Love,**

 **summergirl404**


	7. Chapter 7

**I have said it before, but I'll say it again, you guys are amazing! Thank you so much for your reviews, they mean so much to me and give me motivation to continue on! And I did receive over ten reviews, so here you go: chapter 7.**

 **(I know this too is a bit short and the reason for me to have two short chapters in a row is that I originally planned on posting them together. However, I wanted to post something for you on friday and therefore I split it in two. I hope that you all are okay with that and I promise to post longer chapters in the future.)**

* * *

The grand wooden doors of the throne room was opened and general Ricon walked in with long strides. On the far side of the room king Odin sat on his throne. In his hands he held what had ben his son's favorite knife, staring at it intensely. It was a neat thing, elegant, small and deadly. Ever since his son's death Odin had carried it with him, never parting from it.

Ricon gulped. There were few things in this world that he feared, the wrath of king Odin being one of them. He knew the king was expecting news of the death of his child's murderer. It was impossible to say how he was to react when Ricon told him king Arthur was still breathing.

"My king." The general greeted and kneeled on the floor in front of the throne.

"General." Odin answered without bringing his eyes away from the knife in his hands. "I take it you come with the news of Arthur Pendragon's death."

Ricon kept his head low as he replied. "Sire, there were some complications. We had King Arthur and his knights in our hands, but…"

"Did you not promise me", Odin interrupted coldly,"that I would be in possession of Arthur Pendragon's severed head once you returned form this quest?"

"But, Sire!"

"Did you, or did you not promise me?"

Ricon closed his eyes. "I did, my lord."

"And you know what happens to people who breaks their promises to me, do you not?" Odin's voice lacked emotion.

"I do, my lord." The general all but whispered.

"So tell me," Odin rose from his throne and walked forward to where Ricon was kneeling, the anger in his voice rising with every step he took,"what is keeping me from ending the worthless life of a man who is incapable of staying true to his word?"

Odin took a hold of his general's hair and made him look him in the eyes as he placed his son's knife on his throat.

"My lord, I know that I have failed you, but I have not returned empty handed." The general pleaded."I have brought you the king's protector, Emrys."

Odin halted and released the general. "You mean to say that the druids' prophesies are true? And that Arthur Pendragon is supposed to be the king to unite all of Albion? Ha! Do you take me for a fool, Ricon? Even if those legends were true Arthur Pendragon is barely a man, certainly not a man fit to lead all of Albion!"

"While I can't be certain if Arthur is the king the prophesies spoke of, his servant is most certainly Emrys."

"His servant? Emrys, who is said to hold such power, allows himself to be a servant?" Odin's voice was laced with disgust.

"It is peculiar, my lord." Ricon said, happy too be off the hook.

Odin stared pacing back and forth. "Why are you still kneeling? Stand up, I need to figure out what this means."

The general stood and the king stopped. Odin turned back to Ricon with a growing smile on his face.

"My dear general, what if none of this is by chance? If it all is part of a path carefully planned out by destiny itself?" His voice was sickly sweet, his eyes shining. "What if Emrys was brought to me so that I could lead him on his way, so that he could serve me, so that _I_ could be his master."

Ricon didn't answer, instead he watched as Odin sat back down on his throne with glee on his face.

"I am the king meant to unite Albion and Emrys is to be my tool to do so." He quickly turned serious. "How are we controlling the boy's magic?"

"We been using the black collar, my lord."

"Good, and his reaction to it?"

"Unlike anything I've ever seen, my lord. He was screaming like a madman."

"Then he must be as powerful as the legends said."

"Yes, the only thing that seemed to calm him was the druid girl we brought with us. Without her he lost his sense of reality. His eyes were blank and he showed no signs whatsoever of being aware of what was going on around him."

"I presume the girl is with him now?" Odin asked and Ricon nodded."Keep it that way for now, we want to be able to speak to him. The key to Emrys' collar, give it to me."

Ricon took off the thin iron chain that he had had around his neck. The black key was glistening in the faint torchlight. Odin quickly took it from the general and looked at it intensely, before hanging it around his neck.

Ricon look at him with cation. "Sire, I must warn you, the boy has shown himself to be very loyal to his previous master. When I had my sword over the king's head, the servant panicked. He even used magic to save him, in front of all of us, which would certainly mean his death in Camelot."

"Oh, really?" Odin asked, intrigued."And did the king show any indications of him caring about this servant too?"

"He did, my lord, he was very protective of him. More than one would expect."

"Excellent!" Odin said, still with a wicked smile on his face. "I will turn him against king Arthur and use him to take over Camelot. I will make Emrys kill all who Arthur holds dear while he watches and then, when he has lost everything and everyone, _I_ will kill Arthur Pendragon with my own bare hands!"

* * *

 **Dun dun dun... and the plot** **thickens.**

 **As you already know, I'm still away on a tournament so I barely have any time to write at all. I hope to post next chapter on thursday, so you guys just keep motivating me and I'll just keep writing.**

 **(And I know I'm a tiny bit late with the chapter. I'm on a tournament, I have been doing sports all day and I just got home to my hotel like 30 minutes ago, give me a break ;))**

 **Love you guys,**

 **summergirl404**


	8. Chapter 8

**As promised, chapter 8.**

* * *

It had taken a surprisingly small amount of time to find the horses. Gwaine and Elyan had found them by a small stream not far from the clearing and not long after the knights were on their way.

Arthur was tense and kept urging his horse to go faster. He would never admit it to his fellow knights, but he was worried. He was more than worried, he was afraid. Whatever that thing Odin's men had put around Merlin's neck was it had hurt him in ways Arthur couldn't imagine. Arthur was afraid because he didn't know how long a person could remain sane in that state. He didn't know how long a person could _survive_ in that state.

After an hour's ride in a furious tempo they were forced to slow down, much to Arthur's frustration. He could hear Gwaine and Leon switch stories of times they suspected Merlin had used magic and wagered on whether he had or not. Many of Camelot's old threats were brought up. Among other things Arthur thought he heard something about the dragon and the immortal army.

It took another grievously long three hours before they reached Odin's castle. They left their horses behind and slowly made their way closer to the high stone walls that surrounded the castle where they hid behind the trees.

"We're too late." Leon whispered. He pointed to a group of soldiers laughing merrily about something. "They already arrived."

Gwaine cursed under his breath.

"It doesn't change anything," Arthur whispered,"we're still getting Merlin. It's just going to be a little more difficult than we anticipated. First we scout the area, look for weak points, ways in, whatever you find interesting. Meet back here in 10 minutes, then we retreat and plan our next move."

A few hand signals later the knights all went their separate ways. They stayed in the cover of the trees, individually trying to extract as much information as possible about the building and the guards.

When ten minutes had passed they were all back where they had started. Arthur gave the signal and they retreated, careful not to draw the attention of Odin's men. They moved back to a shallow cave they had found at a short, but safe distance of the castle. The sky was darkening and after some deliberation they decided it would safe to light a small fire. With the fire lit, the knights sat down in a circle around it and started to plan just how they would attempt to rescue Merlin out of that _hellhole_ , as Gwaine so cleverly nicknamed Odin's castle.

"First things first," Arthur said while he used a stick to draw a square in the dirt which was supposed to represent the 'hellhole',"we need a way in. Elyan, entrances?"

"We have the big gate of course," Elyan said and took the stick form Arthur to mark it out on drawing,"other than that I only saw one smaller door at the far side of the castle. The smaller is less crowded, but the door was barred and looked to be a made of iron. It's almost certainly a type of emergency exit, so I would say there is a high probability of the door being heavily guarded from the inside. It will be hard to enter undetected through either of the doors."

Arthur nodded. "Leon, guards?"

"Surprisingly few standing outside the outer walls." Leon noted as he received the stick from Elyan. "Two guards are positioned outside the big gate. The other sides of the castle are patrolled by one single guard on each side, which could be used to our advantage. There is a watchtower by the east side of the castle which we need to stay clear from." While Leon said this he added the guards' positions to the drawing.

Once again, Arthur nodded before he turned to Percival. "Any further weaknesses in the outer walls?"

Percival shook his head. "If we had been here with an army, then yes. There are a few weaker points in the building, but nothing that will help us in a situation like this."

Arthur gave a small nod and lastly turned to Gwaine. "Weaknesses among the guards?"

"Their helmets," Gwaine replied uncharacteristically serious,"they cover their faces, makes it harder to identify the individual. If we do choose to infiltrate that is definitely an advantage. Other than that their armor looks no different to the armor of the guards of Camelot, so I would say it's the normal weak points."

With one last nod to Gwaine, Arthur turned his eyes back to the fire. "Good work, men." He said as he stared into the flames, thinking about what each knight had said. "Because of the limited entries, with those few probably being heavily guarded, I think the best method to use would be, as Gwaine suggested, infiltration. We take out one of the lone guards by the side of the walls and from there we'll work our way into the castle. One of us will however need to switch places with the guard we dispose of. You know what the risks are in a situation like this, if you're found out you're dead." Arthur looked up at his friends, the seriousness in his voice obvious. "I would go myself, but even with the mask I would be too recognizable, too many men in that castle know what I look like. I will not force this on any of you, the risks are too great for that. If you go, you go because you are willing to take those risks in order to get Merlin out of there."

"I'll go." Everyone turned to Gwaine. "What?" he said with a smile. "I like bad odds."

Arthur sent him a worried look. Gwaine saw this and quickly sobered up, he had seen how tense Arthur had been since Merlin had been taken. He knew they were both dealing with it in their own ways and he knew Arthur was taking it hard.

"I want to go," Gwaine said with a calm and clear voice,"Merlin would have done the same for me and I won't be recognized as you would. And I have snuck into castles before."

Elyan raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Elyan, Gwen has told me about some of your misadventures too. And you know me, it really shouldn't surprise you that I have snuck into a castle or two in the past."

"True," Elyan replied,"but I still don't think you should do it alone. I want to go too." Elyan turned to Arthur. "You and Merlin snuck into a castle to save me once, I wouldn't say the odds were in your favor that time either, but that didn't stop you. I think it's time I return the courtesy."

Gwaine saw Arthur hesitate and sent him a reassuring smile. With a sigh Arthur continued.

"We take out two guards then, Gwaine will take the place of the first and Elyan will switch places with the second. They will probably shift places sometime after sunrise, so we must take action before that. When the guard come to relive you of your duties you go into the castle, where your first priority is to find out where Merlin is being held. If possible, you are to release him and bring him out of there. However, I seriously doubt it will be that easy. If there is any risks at all that you will be be discovered, wait for us."

All the knights listened carefully to what Arthur said. They knew there was much at stake. What worried each of them most was what planes Odin had for Merlin, everyone had their own theories yet no one dared to speak about it. If Odin believed Merlin was this almighty Emrys he would be under heavy guard. It would be extremely hard to even get close to him, to free him would be almost impossible. But the knights of Camelot were not known to back down from a challenge, they never had before and they certainly weren't starting now.

"Your second priority will be to find out how to get that collar off him. We have to assume he's still wearing it and we have no way of knowing exactly how much it effects him." Arthur's voice held a hidden pain as he continued. "From his reaction the conclusion we have to take is that it hurts him badly, when we get him out that _thing_ is the first thing we need to handle. For all we know it could cause permanent damage or even kill him if kept on for too long." He took a deep breath and regained his impassive emotion in his voice. "I think I saw a key when they put it on him. If you can, find it. My guess would be that either Ricon or Odin has it, knowing Odin he probably wouldn't trust the key with anyone but himself. Just find it, don't take it if it's too much of a risk. If they notice it's gone your cover is blown."

Arthur paused to let the information sink in. They all sat in silence for a moment, the only sound coming from the ever-growing flames of their small fire.

"The druid girl. If we can we free her, she deserves this no more than Merlin does. There is a high probability of her being kept near him, so hopefully she won't be too hard to find. If, however, we have Merlin and don't know where she is, if saving her endangers the mission, we can't stay to find her. It pains me to say that, but we can't afford being in there any longer than we have to." He clenched his jaw with his eyes locked to the ground, as if ashamed of what he just said. Which he probably was, Leon thought.

"If you are not out by noon tomorrow we will come in. You will need to find the best way of entry, preferably the smaller one to ensure we're met by as few guards as possible."

Gwaine and Elyan both nodded looking resolute.

"We need to be cautious, one wrong step and we're dead. And if we're dead, Merlin's dead. If we fail all of Camelot is in danger. So we won't fail."

All the knights looked at each other, a mutual understanding passing through them. Many unspoken words hadn't been needed to be understood. Their thoughts went in different directions, but somehow they all ended up with Merlin. Deep down they all knew what Arthur had said hadn't been true. If they died in this attempted rescue Merlin wouldn't die, Merlin would become a tool. Odin was a cruel man, he would stop at nothing to make Merlin bend to his will.

"Get some sleep, the break of dawn is in five hours, we will rise an hour before that so we can make the switch before the sun rises. I'll take watch." Arthur said.

The others were reluctant to letting Arthur take the watch, he needed the rest more than anyone. Yet all but one accepted it, only because the knew Arthur would't change his mind once it was set on something, and laid down to rest.

Leon approached Arthur carefully. "Are you sure you want to take the first watch? I can take it if you wish."

"Yes, Leon, I'm sure." Arthur sighed.

Leon knew it was a lost cause, but he pressed on anyways. "You could really use the rest. It has been a long day for us all, but I would guess it has taken it's tool on you more than any of us."

Arthur was quiet a second before he answered. "Thank you for your concern, Leon, but I feel it would be a waste for more than one person to be awake." Another pause. "I won't sleep even if I try. I can't, I have too much I need to figure out. Things I have to figure out by myself."

Leon understood and gave in. "Goodnight then, sire, feel free to wake me if you wish to rest."

"Thank you, Leon. Sleep well."

And thereby Arthur found himself alone with his thoughts once more. There was so many loose ends and he didn't know where to start. He thought about how Gwaine and Leon had talked about times when they suspected Merlin had used magic behind their backs and he began to wonder. How many times had Merlin used magic behind _his_ back?

He started thinking about all the times he had been knocked out in a crises and been woken up by Merlin and an odd explanation, all the times Merlin had told him the strangest of things (like his stepmother being a troll…) and then been proven right despite what everyone else thought, all the times the two of them were out on their own and luck just happened to be on their side when bandits attacked, all the times Merlin disappeared and apparently wasn't in the tavern. Arthur slowly started to see a pattern, times that luck just wouldn't have cut it. Magical beings, miracles, evil sorcerers. It should have been obvious that Camelot couldn't withstand it all by itself. Merlin had been defending Camelot from the shadows.

That just brought him more questions. Exactly how many times had Merlin saved his life as he had today? And _why_?

His motivation seemed to be the key question. Why would a man who is said to hold such power devout his life to saving a city and the son of a king who would burn him if they ever found out? Now that was the part Arthur couldn't figure out and it frustrated him. Quite a lot actually.

He guessed he would have to ask Merlin when they got him out of that hellhole. _If_ they got him out of that hellhole.

And they would. Or they would die trying.

* * *

 **There you have it! What do you think of the plan, will it work? Review your thoughts ;)**

 **Sadly, I'm going away again this weekend too, and I won't be able to write anything, so the next chapter will probably be posted on monday...** **Thank you for sharing your thoughts! It means a lot to me to hear your** **opinion.**

 **Love,**

 **summergirl404**


	9. Chapter 9

**I know I'm late! Sorry! This was kind of a hard** **chapter to write, but I hope I've made it justice.**

 ** _Some random shoutouts:_**

 ** _kracken96:_ Thank you so much! You have many good points and ask many valid questions(that I unfortunately can't answer right now, because spoilers...) , I'll guess we just have to wait and see what happens ;) **

_**1Buffalos:**_ **Thank you, I really appreciate your opinion! You're right in that Arthur would hate staying behind in a situation like this, but don't worry he'll be part of the action when the time comes. And about Gwaine, again thank you very much. He's one of my favorite characters and he is a quite complex person, so I'm happy that you think I've made him justice :)**

 ** _mersan123:_ Thank you for all of your reviews, they always put a smile on my face :)**

 ** _SkySorrow:_ Thank you very much! It means a lot for me to hear that, I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter as well! :)**

 ** _Dyana:_ Gosh, thank you! Trust me, the best is yet to come ;)**

 **To all my other reviewers: Thank you, every single one of you. You are the ones who motivate me to continue on writing :)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Arthur didn't wake Leon to take over his watch. He had needed these hours to himself and in some extensions they had actually helped. Even though he still had a million questions he felt that he, in some ways, had gained a bit of control over the situation. He had started guessing parts of how and why Merlin used magic, convinced he had figured out at least a few time he had saved Arthur's life with it. It was nowhere near enough for Arthur, but it was a start and it was enough for now.

When the night's darkest hour came Arthur roused the knights. Together they got up, put out the fire and made the last preparations for what laid ahead of them. No one had uttered as much as a word when they exited the cave, no one had anything to say. Instead they moved quietly through the dark, damp forest.

After a few minutes they reached the high stone walls surrounding the castle. They could see a lone guard walking along the side of the wall carrying a torch. The torch light illuminated the stone wall and made his long shadow fall behind him as he patrolled.

Gwaine thanked God for the clouds that that hid them from the moonlight. It would have been far from impossible for the knights to take the guard by surprise if it had been a clear night, but now, with the clouds covering the sky like a thick grey blanket, it would almost be too easy.

He was on edge, wanted nothing more than to just be done with this and head home with a laughing Merlin at his side. Gwaine didn't want to wait any longer. He started to slowly make his way forward, attempting to climb through the bushes they were hiding in. A firm hand on his shoulder stopped him almost immediately, he gritted his teeth as he turned to the owner of the hand and came face to face with Percival. The larger knight gave a light shake of his head and discreetly guided Gwaine's eyes to Arthur. Arthur, who was regarding the guard with caution, looking for any possible traps or flaws in their plan.

Percival didn't need to speak for Gwaine to hear him. _This is no time to take risks. Patience, Gwaine, wait for Arthur._ And Gwaine knew he was right, of course he was, so he fell back to his previous position and reluctantly waited for orders.

Only a couple of moments later Arthur gave the signal and they started moving forward, slowly creeping closer to the unsuspecting guard.

Percival was the one to reach him first. Without a sound he wrapped one arm around the guard's throat to cut off his air supply and pressed his other hand to his mouth to keep him quiet. The guard reflexively let go of the torch, which was skillfully caught by Gwaine, and brought both his hands up to try to pry off the arm that was making him suffocate, but to no avail. Soon enough his efforts wore off and he went limp in Percival's grip.

"Good work, Percival." Arthur said as he walked forward and gave Percival a firm pat on the shoulder. Percival looked back to Arthur and let go of the limp form, letting it fall to the ground. Together Gwaine, Percival and Arthur quickly stripped the guard of his uniform, Percival then disposed of the body while Arthur helped Gwaine into the clothing. In the mean time Leon and Elyan kept watch to make sure no one came to intervene.

Gwaine and Arthur worked in silence. When they were just about finished, with only the helmet left for Gwaine to put on, Arthur hesitated.

"Don't look at me like that, princess, I'll be fine." Gwaine said with a small smile. His smile didn't last long however. He put a hand on Arthur's shoulder and said with seriousness seldom heard in Gwaine's voice; " _He'll_ be fine."

Arthur's lips became a thin line, but he gave a slight nod and handed Gwaine the helmet. Gwaine put the it on and was glad to discover that it hid his features well, only exposing his eyes. With the the uniform on and torch in his hand no one would be able to tell him apart from the previous guard.

Arthur brought his hand to the hilt of his sword when he heard the light footsteps coming towards them, but released it again as soon as the figures came forward in the torchlight. Percival and Leon looked from Arthur to Gwaine.

"We're clear." Leon said. "No suspicious activity whatsoever."

"Good," Arthur answered,"then we find Elyan and take down the second guard. It's only about thirty minutes to sunrise and by that time the three of us need to be out of here."

With that the four of them set down the path along the wall. Not a minute later Elyan came into their sights. He walking towards them, looking over his shoulder every no and then.

Elyan gave his friends a nod in greeting, before turning back the way he came with the others trailing behind. They all stopped a short distance before the corner of the wall.

"Same as before. One lone guard." Elyan said quietly.

"I got this." Gwaine stepped forward with the torch held high. "Percy, you with me?"

Percival nodded and shrank back into the shadows with the rest of the knights.

Gwaine walked around the corner as the guard was closing in.

"Hey!" He whisper-yelled at the guard.

The guard walked closer and hurried his steps a bit as he heard what he thought was his fellow guard's call.

"What is it? Did you spot anything?" The guard asked gazing towards the trees.

"I think so,"Gwaine said as he put his hand on the guard's back and steered him forward,"I thought I saw someone move right…"

Percival pounced soundlessly from the shadows and wrapped his arm around the guard's neck the same way he had with the one before. The guard's screams were muffled by Percival's hand. He looked at Gwaine with wide eyes while he, just as the one before him, went limp in Percival's arms.

"…there." Gwaine finished smugly.

Once again they repeated the process with the guard. Take the uniform, dispose of the body. Elyan was clad in the guard's clothing and they were ready.

Arthur looked to the sky and saw how the darkness slowly but surely faded and turned brighter. It was time to go.

He turned to Gwaine and Elyan. "Remember; Merlin, key, girl. And no unnecessary risks. If you can't get them out, you let us in at noon." Arthur laid a hand on each of their shoulders. "You know what's at stake. Good luck."

"Don't worry, Arthur," Gwaine said with a smile, "we'll be in and out of this hellhole before they even knew we were here."

Arthur briefly returned the smile before he, Leon and Percival quietly went back to the cover of the trees. From there they watched as Gwaine and Elyan patrolled the walls, waiting to see when the new guards would come and take their places.

Ten minutes went by and nothing happened. The three remaining knights kept their eyes glued. Arthur was growing increasingly impatient, but forced himself to take a deep breath. He was frustrated with this situation, having to wait, sit by and do nothing.

The sun was rising, the clouded sky was slowly growing brighter.

Another ten minutes passed and Arthur had yet to let Gwaine and Elyan out of his sight. He hated the fact that he wasn't the one to go into the castle, hated feeling powerless like this, hated waiting.

"Arthur, maybe it's time we…" Leon was silenced by Arthur who quietly signaled for the knights to look at the at their disguised friends. Three guards were walking down Gwaine's side of the wall. They made their way to Gwaine, stopped before him and looked to be talking to him. The knights held their breaths as they saw Gwaine nod and change places with one of the guards and as he took his place behind the other two.

Leon and Percival both relaxed as the process was repeated with Elyan and the three started heading to the big gate. Arthur kept looking after them. Leon carefully put a hand on Arthur's shoulder, but Arthur showed no sign of noticing.

"I know what you're thinking, but you made the right choice. You would have been recognized, it would have been down right stupid for you to be one of the infiltrators. This is the safest cause of action we can take."

Arthur sighed heavily. "I know," he said with his eyes still on the castle, "but that doesn't make it an easier decision to make."

Leon hesitated, but then added. "Arthur, I'm sure Merlin is…"

"That Merlin is _what,_ Leon?" Arthur cut him off sharply. "And don't say _he's fine_ or _he's alright_ , because I'm pretty damn sure he's not. For all we know he could be tortured this very moment, he could have been killed hours ago. We can't be _sure_ of _anything_!"

Arthur took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Leon, I had no right to snap at you like that. The lack of sleep must be getting to me."

He finally turned back to look at Leon with a tired look on his features. Leon didn't say anything to Arthur's apology, he knew how hard this had to be on him. He was handling it surprisingly well. No matter how much Arthur and Merlin would deny it Leon knew they were friends, both of them had risked their lives to keep the other safe at multiple occasions in the past.

They trusted each other and for Arthur to find out about Merlin's secrets and then to see him brutally beaten and kidnapped, it was bound to leave a mark on him.

To Leon it seemed like Arthur had started working through the magic-thing, because at this moment, when he looked at Arthur, he only saw worry for Merlin's wellbeing and not the betrayal and confusion that had been there last night.

Leon was just thankful that Arthur's current state hadn't caused him to make any overly reckless decisions.

"Lets go back and get some rest while we can then." Leon said softly.

Arthur nodded and together the three started moving away from the castle under the cover of the trees.

When they were at a safe distance Arthur stopped and looked back to the castle where the life of three of his friends were hanging by a thread and whispered; "Good luck."

* * *

 **Next chapter will probably be up on Saturday or something like that, but once again, if you leave me 10 reviews or more I'll try to get it done by Friday ;)**

 **Love,**

 **summergirl404**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi guys!**

 **Thank you all for your reviews, your kind words keep me going! Sadly though, I only received 9 reviews until Friday and therefore the chapter is posted today instead. But now it's here!**

 ** _Review_** ** _response:_**

 ** _Multifangirl6:_ Thank you very much! Your review left me smiling for quite a while. **

_**Bird Blu:**_ **Thank you so much! Yeah, slowly but surely we are moving towards the story's climax. Action is on the way. ;)**

 ** _LittleDragon333:_ Thank you! It's always good to hear that your work is appreciated, I sincerely hope you keep enjoying future chapters :) **

**_mersan123:_ Let's hope they can, but things seldom is without complications for our dear knights, so lets just wait and see ;) **

**_kracken96:_ Hahaha thank you, I completely agree. It's truly a challenge to manage to reflect the characters' reactions sometimes, they have so many layers... **

**_Grell Phantomhive:_ Gosh, thank you! Your review seriously made my day. It means a lot to get compliments on my writing as english isn't my native language, so really thank you. Hope you'll like this chapter as well. ;)**

 ** _Rabbit887:_ Thaaaank you! We'll just have to wait and see won't we ;) **

**And to every other reviewer, as usual, thank you thank you thank you. Every single review puts a smile on my face. You are all wonderful!**

 **This might just be my favorite chapter yet, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it...**

* * *

Gwaine and Elyan had walked in through the big gate and into the courtyard accompanied by the third guard.

Elyan looked around feeling a bit uneasy. Whereas Camelot always seemed inviting, safe and familiar, Odin's castle was everything but.

The high walls built around the castle itself were made entirely by a type of dark grey stone and surrounded the main building in a way that, at least to Elyan and Gwaine, made it feel more like a prison than a home.

On their way to the castle doors they walked past several other buildings, all of them looking dirty and worn out.

 _A bakery,_ Gwaine thought as he looked at the different houses, _a smithy, a tavern._ He could hear the drunkards yelling at each other, some stumbling out of the door, probably on their way home from a night of celebration.

Normally Gwaine didn't have a problem with drunks, he had handled them often enough in the past, but today he gritted his teeth as they walked past the tavern knowing that most of the men in the tavern this night had been soldiers celebrating the bounty that had been caught the day before.

Elyan had noted the same things as Gwaine. He didn't want to focus on the tavern all to much, so he turned his attention to the next building instead. At first he couldn't quite put his finger on what was the house propose. It wasn't until he came closer, when he started hearing to sounds, when he saw the drunk men from the tavern stumble into the house and when he saw how the women came out to lure them inside, he understood.

It was a brothel. Elyan looked at Gwaine and they shared a disgusted look. All places weren't as good to it's people as Camelot were to her's.

Gwaine shuddered as he tried to shake the image of Merlin, beaten and chained, somewhere in this horrid place. If this was the courtyard, Gwaine feared what state the dungeons would be in.

They both ignored the unease and kept following their fellow guard who were leading them away from the buildings and up to the castle doors. Two guards were stationed outside the doors, they didn't move a muscle when the three walked past them.

Elyan couldn't shake the feeling that this was too easy, but none the less kept walking. At last they seemed to reach their destination, the second door to the left down a narrow corridor a bit deeper into the castle.

The guard who had led them there knocked on the door with caution.

"Enter!" came a deep voice from within the room. The three entered and stood before the the large man sitting behind the desk with piles and piles of documents. He seemed deeply concentrated on the current document that laid before him.

"Night reports, I presume." He said without looking up from his work. Gwaine wasn't quite sure if he was addressing them or if he simply stated the fact to himself. In either case he chose to keep his mouth shut for once to avoid any unwanted attention. Better to be ignored and stay undetected.

Neither Elyan or the other guards spoke either. The man finally looked up from his paperwork.

"Well?" He asked with a slightly annoyed tone. "Any suspicious activity during the night?"

The first guard cleared his throat nervously. "N-no, my lord, I saw nothing out of the ordinary this night."

The man lifted a hand towards the guard to silence him and signaled for Gwaine to speak.

"Nor did I, my lord." Gwaine said with lowered head.

"Nor I, my lord." Elyan continued.

"Very well then," the man said emotionlessly as his attention was moved back to the document on his desk, "I do not need to remind you what will happen it comes to my attention that you have not been efficient in your service."

He looked up once more, with a little grin on his face and a cold gleam in his eyes.

"Odin is always very keen to have his toys used on those who won't do his work properly."

Gwaine was fairly certain the guard beside him cringed when 'Odin's toys' were mentioned. He quickly came to the conclusion that he really didn't want to know the meaning of the phrase.

The man just looked down in his papers again and waved his hand at them.

"Dismissed."

The three were quickly out of the room and then separated once outside. The third guard was around the corner faster than Gwaine had thought possible and Gwaine would have bet any sum of money that the man had been pale as a ghost under that helmet.

With one look at each other Gwaine and Elyan took of in the other direction feeling a bit uncomfortable so close to that man.

"That went better than expected." Gwaine said as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure they were alone.

"I fear it's not quite over yet." Elyan replied.

"Right you are, of course." Gwaine sighed. "Let's go find Merlin."

And so they started roam the castle, cautiously learning their way around it, while searching for their imprisoned friend. They walked together, because no matter if the search itself would go faster if they parted there were too many things that could go wrong. The risks were fewer if they travelled together and therefor they did.

After thirty minutes walking down corridors and up flights of stairs, every now and then passing other guards or what they presumed were lords of Odin's court, they came across two guards casually standing joking around in one of the deserted parts of the castle.

When they saw Gwaine and Elyan close in they stiffened and quickly got back into position. Gwaine was not going to miss out on this opportunity.

"What do we have here?" He asked with authority as he walked to stand before the two guards. "Am I mistaken or did I and my companion just find you two slacking off during a shift? I trust you know what happens to slackers. King Odin will not be happy to hear of this."

At first the two guards were standing in silence, glancing nervously at each other, but it didn't take long before they broke.

"Please don't tell the King," the first pleaded with shaking voice, "I swear we'll never do it again! Just please, don't tell him!"

The second joined into the plea and practically begged on his knees for mercy. Gwaine let them squirm for a minute while he pretended to consider it. Under the mask he was smirking.

He sighed heavily and said; "Fine, we won't tell the king. But if I ever find you slacking off again, don't expect me to show you any mercy."

Both the guards seemed so relived the could have started weeping then and there.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"This will never be repeated."

"It better not be." Gwaine said with stern voice as he and Elyan started turning to begin to walk away. Not a second later Gwaine turned back, innocently asking; "As we're already speaking, I have another question. Me and my companion was on duty outside castle yesterday, but we heard rumors of something happening in here. Rumors of a prisoner being brought in. Do you know anything of this?"

There were few times when Elyan would admit to Gwaine being a genius, but this was definitely one of them.

The guards glanced at each other once more.

"You're referring to the sorcerer?" The first asked.

Gwaine looked to Elyan as if he was searching for confirmation. Elyan gave him a nod.

"I do think I am." Gwaine answered and turned back to the guards.

"Yeah, we saw him when they brought him in." The second guard said. "Sickly looking thing that one. Pale as a ghost, blank eyes, don't think he's quite sane."

Gwaine clenched his fists, but held his tongue.

"And where was he taken?"

"We weren't the ones to take him, but I'm almost certain they took him to the dungeons under the castle. You know, the ones without light. The prisoners are confined in complete darkness. I've heard of men driven mad down there."

Elyan threw Gwaine a worried look, but Gwaine didn't see. He was completely focused on the two men before him.

"Any ideas of what King Odin might want with him?" He said with a seemingly uninterested voice.

The guards shook their heads.

"He's probably important in some way though. Ricon wasn't even punished for his failed assassination of King Arthur. Everyone who fails the king is punished."

"What is going on here?"

The harsh voice echoed through the corridor and as all the four men turned towards it Gwaine's jaw clenched and his hand automatically went to the hilt of his sword.

 _When you speak of the devil._

The person walking towards them with long and angry strides was none other than the general himself.

It took every ounce of self control in Gwaine's body for him not to draw his sword and impale Ricon right then and there. He stayed still however, adverting his eyes from the general and to the stone floor. He didn't trust himself right now and he knew that one wrong step, one single wrong step, would compromise the whole mission and he would never be able to look himself in the mirror if he was the one to make that wrong step.

"Answer me!" General Ricon yelled at them, then turned to Elyan and Gwaine. "What are you two doing here?"

Gwaine kept his mouth shut, so Elyan stepped forward. "We are patrolling the corridors, my lord."

Ricon looked at them suspiciously for a moment, but then sighed and seemed to let it go.

"You," he said pointing at Elyan and Gwaine, "come with me. King Odin is in need of your service."

Gwaine's eyes hardened at Odin's name and he kept them glued to the floor. Elyan kept his resolved expression.

"Certainly, my lord." Elyan answered.

The general turned around and walked away with Elyan and Gwaine trailing behind him. They walked through the castle and Elyan noted they were headed to it's center. Gwaine didn't note all too much during their walk, he choose to concentrate on not killing the man walking a few paces before him.

It would have been so simple. Just draw his sword and stab him, quick and easy. He knew stabbing a man in the back was against the knight's code, but this man deserved it. He had hurt Merlin. He had kicked, strangled and beaten Merlin. No one hurt Merlin and got away with it.

But he couldn't and he didn't, because just as Gwaine killed the general in his mind for the thirtieth time the general pushed open two grand doors and walked through them.

Gwaine finally looked up at what he could only presume was the throne room. And right there, no more than ten feet in front of them, sat king Odin on his throne with a black key in his hand.

 _Probably the key to Merlin's collar_ , Elyan deducted.

General Ricon pointed to a point on the wall on the right side of the room.

"There." He said without looking back.

Gwaine and Elyan took their position without a word and waited. Apart from them there were around ten more guards stationed in the room, unusually many. Most of them were standing alongside the walls, two were standing either side of the throne and two on either side of the door.

Ricon had in the mean time made his way to Odin.

"I acquired the dozen guards you asked for, sire."

"Good." Odin answered with an exited grin. "Now bring him to me."

Ricon lowered his head respectfully before he turned around storming out of the room barking at the four guards closest to the door to come with him.

Elyan leaned over to Gwaine.

"Do you also have a horrible feeling about this?" He whispered.

"Something like that." Gwaine answered with the same hushed voice. He had barely looked away from Odin since he and Elyan entered the room.

Even if Gwaine thought Odin had done awful things in the past he couldn't help but have a tiny bit of sympathy for the man. To lose one's only son can't be easy.

Any sympathy Gwaine had towards Odin was however about to crumble. When it happened it took no more than a second for him to change his mind. A grieving father became a coldblooded tyrant right before his eyes.

The switch was happened when the door was opened once more and the general walked in with a black chain in his hand, forcing someone forward behind him.

Someone with dirty, ripped clothes. Someone covered bruises with dried blood running down the side of his face. Someone sickly pale with agony in his eyes. Someone painfully familiar.

This time Gwaine's own self-control wasn't enough. If it hadn't been for Elyan's death-grip on his arm he was sure he would have stepped forward, drawn his sword and attempted to strike down every man in the room, done something, _anything._

Elyan's death-grip reminded him that he couldn't. So he stood still, frozen in his tracks and looked as the man he looked upon as his best friend was dragged into the room by the wicked collar around his neck like an animal. Like a slave.

Unable to do anything else he couldn't stop the small, broken word that forced it's way out of his mouth in a barely audible whisper.

" _Merlin."_

* * *

 **Hehehe okay, that might kind of be a cliffhanger... sorry.**

 **Next update will be on Wednesday, but I'll give you another shot with the reviews so 10 reviews or more and I will update on Tuesday. Until next time!**

 **Love,**

 **summergirl404 ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**You guys are absolutely amazing, thank you all for your incredible response and support! I think I got it to about 20 reviews and thank you, thank you, thank you to every single one of you!**

 _ **Review response:**_

 _ **Grell Phantomhive:**_ **Aww thank you, I'm flattered that you think so highly of my writing! Hope you keep enjoying the story ;)**

 ** _Grank:_ Yeah, the biggest reason to why I pointed those things out was that I wanted to contrast the Arthur and Odin's differences. Whereas Arthur's main concern is of his people, Odin only sees his people as soldiers, resources he can use to reach his personal goals. He doesn't care of their wellbeing as long as they do his bidding. At least my version of the character ;) Thank you for your review!**

 ** _Lya200:_ hahaha, you're about to find out ;) **

**_Linorien:_ I hear ya. You'll just have to wait and see, hope you like my take on it ;)**

 ** _Sarah:_ Aww thank you so much, you're too kind! I'm really happy that you enjoy it! :)**

 ** _kracken96:_ A lot of good questions, some might just be answered down below. I know, hehe, but one or two cliffhangers are always needed in a decent story ;) Thank you, hope you like this chapter as well!**

 ** _1Buffalo:_ Gosh, thank you so much! That truly means a lot! :)**

 _ **cmfisher:**_ **Thank you very much! We'll just have to wait and see, but Odin is playing a dangerous game, so when knows what's in store for him... ;)**

 ** _HiddenMagican_ _:_ Your review made me so incredibly happy! Thank you, you are too kind! Hope you keep enjoying the story! :)**

 _ **Aaronna:**_ **Thank you so much! I know, but who doesn't love a little whump ;)**

 **This is of course only some of the reviews I received and to all you other people who also reviewed, follow or have favorited this story THANK YOU!**

 **Enjoy...**

* * *

Merlin was woken by screams. A girl's screams. Luna's screams. The thought quickly roused him and he forced his eyelids open to take in his surroundings. Once he managed to open his eyes he was blinded by light. He quickly closed them again and realized he was on his feet, being dragged forward by two guards.

"Leave him alone! No, you can't! Just leave him alone!"

Luna. Her screams were coming from behind. She must still be in her cell. _Not hurt,_ Merlin concluded, _just upset with them for taking me_.

At least that brought him some peace. His arms ached from being tied behind his back for such a long time, his throat felt swollen and sore and he could feel the dried blood from before still present, running down from his forehead where he had been knocked out yesterday.

But the physical pain was nothing compared to the war going on inside of him.

Luna had helped and he was grateful, but her magic had simply been a sedative, numbing the pain, but not healing the damage. Now that Luna was gone he felt every ounce of the pain again, and it was way worse than before. Merlin didn't think he had ever felt so weak in his life.

None the less he kept clinging onto reality, knowing that whatever was about to happen it had to be of great importance.

Merlin felt someone tug on his collar and tried again to open his eyes. He adverted his gaze from the light source and little by little got used to being out of the darkness.

Even though he was a lot more alert now then he had been when he was last taken through the the castle corridors, he scarcely paid attention to any details this time around either. Instead most of his concentration was spent on trying to get the pain under control, being able to think clearly and prepare himself for whatever the future had in store for him.

So once the guards let go of him, he once again had no idea of how long they had been walking.

Merlin looked up at the big doors before him. _Throne room_ , he thought and tensed his jaw.

Ricon took a rough hold of the collar, pulled Merlin closer and grinned menacingly.

"Ready to meet your new master?" He asked mockingly.

Merlin fixed the general with an icy glare, but kept his mouth shut.

Ricon's grin simply grew at Merlin's resistance and before Merlin knew what was happening Ricon's fist had hit him hard in the stomach. Pain exploded through his already bruised ribs and he bit his lip to keep quiet. He was not giving Ricon the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

"Open the doors."

Merlin barely heard the order, he was once again trying to get the pain surging through his body under control. The physical and nonphysical pain was blending together and God it hurt.

He became aware of someone, most certainly Ricon, pulling hard on the chain connected to his collar and was forced to start stumbling forward to keep himself from falling over.

His blurry vision was slowly returning to normal and he found himself standing before king Odin who was observing him with unnerving interest and a little smile on his face.

"My lord," Ricon said and bowed his head to Odin, "may I introduce Emrys."

Ricon pulled Merlin forward so that he stood slightly in front of him.

"Bow to the king, sorcerer." He hissed threateningly to Merlin.

Merlin, having regained somewhat control of himself, didn't let his eyes of Odin as he replied with determined voice.

"Never."

Odin's smile simply grew, intrigued by this strange young man before him. Ricon's face flushed with anger and so he took hold of the collar once again and violently sent Merlin crashing to the stone floor.

Unable to catch himself Merlin landed hard and wasn't able to get up. Ricon realized this and pulled him up by the chain connected to the collar, momentarily choking Merlin in the process.

All the while Odin sat on his throne watching intensely, showing no sort of regret whatsoever to the brutality displaying itself in his throne room.

Whereas Odin didn't react to any of this, there where two people in the room who most certainly did.

Elyan's grip on Gwaine's arm was growing tighter by the second and he was no longer certain it was only for Gwaine's sake he was holding on. To see Merlin, their Merlin, treated this way was disturbing on so many levels.

In this moment Elyan just wanted to let go of Gwaine and join him on whatever crazy killing spree he knew Gwaine was planning in his head this very moment. Anything just to stop this. But he couldn't let go, because he knew that if _he_ felt like this, Gwaine could only be moments away from pouncing.

It was no secret how close Gwaine and Merlin were or how protective the former was of the latter. Merlin was a great friend to Elyan, but he was a brother to Gwaine.

Gwaine stood still as a statue and held his eyes glued at Merlin the entire time. He had seen some awful things in his life, abuse of innocent human beings, men dying in bar fights and battles, people burning at the pyre for crimes they sometimes hadn't commit, but this… this might just be the single most disturbing thing Gwaine had ever seen.

If it hadn't been for Elyan's iron grip on his wrist he would have blown his cover and drawn his sword the second Merlin entered the room. But he couldn't, not if the plan was to work.

Gwaine bit tongue and kept watching, wanting nothing more than to turn away only to find he was unable to.

"Emrys," Odin drawled out with glistening eyes, "I'm glad to finally get a chance to meet you."

Merlin drew a few deep breath before he looked up at Odin from where he was now kneeling on the floor.

"Odin," Merlin rasped with sarcasm dripping of his voice, "I wish I could say the same to you."

That earned him a low growl from Ricon accompanied by another rough tug on the collar. Odin lifted his hand to stop Ricon, but didn't let his eyes off Merlin.

Odin chuckled. "Sharp tongue, have we Emrys?"

"My name is _Merlin_."

Odin ignored him and simply kept observing him tilting his head slightly to the right.

"Let me tell you Emrys, you puzzle me. I have heard stories of you, both legends and whispers of present deeds done in the shadows. According to the druids you are supposedly the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth. You certainly have their loyalty, Emrys, no matter how much pain was inflicted on them they would never tell us where to find you."

Merlin looked up sharply at that, fury rising within him.

"The druids are innocent, peaceful people! You have no right to torment them!"

"But they have so much valuable information." Odin said smiling. "And last I heard the druids weren't too well treated by your precious king either, sorcery is still punishable by death in Camelot after all. At least I give them a choice, if they present me with the information I want they are free to go. If not however… well I can hardly be held responsible for that."

Merlin gritted his teeth and Odin continued.

"What puzzles me about you is how you, one of the most powerful creatures on earth can allow yourself to be a lowlife servant, a worthless peasant. You who, according to the tales, can bring Camelot to the ground with a flick of your hand. You could rule them all. Why then be a servant?"

"I believe in the world Arthur will build." Merlin said with a calm and clear voice. "He is a fair and just king, he sees the things his father was to blind too. I would rather be his servant than rule the world myself."

Merlin's head was pounding. His magic pulsating under his skin, trying to get out, but to no avail.

"How can you say that?" Odin was starting to look a bit enraged. "You call Arthur Pendragon a _fair and just_ king and yet if he knew who you were he would have a pyre built for you in a matter of minutes. _He_ would be the one to light the fire and watch how you _burned_. Tell me Emrys, which one of us is truly the monster?"

Gwaine clenched his fists.

 _Liar, liar, liar._ He repeated in his head as he, for the first time, let Merlin out of his sight and stared intensely on the floor by his feet, trying to calm himself down. _Arthur would never do that to Merlin, ever, not even because of this magic thing._

"No, Arthur wouldn't…"

"If you're not worried, then why haven't you told him?" Odin interrupted mockingly.

"He wasn't ready to know yet…" Merlin answered, angered.

 _But he knows now_ , Merlin added in his head.

"That is a lie, Emrys. Deep down you know it. He will never be ready because Pendragons will never change, Arthur is no more than an incompetent fool. How many times have you saved his life in his service without him noticing? How many times have you been the one to defeat the threat and had to watch someone else, most of the time probably the king himself, take the credit for it? And has he ever thanked you for any of this?"

Odin didn't miss the way Merlin flinched and knew he was right. He had hit a soft spot.

"I am sorry, Emrys," Odin was trying to sound sincere, but with the corner of his mouth pointing up it wasn't quite believable, "but the Pendragon boy will never accept you or your kind. You have been mislead, my friend, for Arthur Pendragon can impossibly be the once and future king the prophesies speak of.

Can you not see what destiny is trying to tell us? It was no coincidence that you found your way to me. Where Arthur has failed, I will succeed. I will show you mercy and accept you and your powers as long as you agree to do as I say. Together we can take over Albion and I will rule over her through her golden age and be the king she deserves. We could bring Arthur and Camelot to their knees! There are no coincidences, Emrys, only destiny. Now do as destiny tells you and join me."

The room fell into silence. Elyan held his breath. Gwaine was in chock and tightened his grip own the hilt of his sword. Ricon glanced at Merlin with hard eyes, seemingly ready to take action if he in any way disrespected the king. The king himself was now sitting on the edge of his throne with glistening eyes, leaning forward with an outstretched hand like peace offering to the sorcerer kneeling on the floor before him.

At first Merlin looked back at the king with an unreadable expression. The pain was turning to fog inside his head and he could feel how his mind was slowly drawn into it, taking him away from reality.

But he wasn't finished, this was important. He fought his clouded mind with all he had and regained a small amount of control.

 _Just a little longer,_ he kept thinking to himself.

He then looked up at Odin and to everyone's surprise he started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Odin said sharply, his eyes hardening.

Merlin just shook his head and continued to smile. "You speak as if you know so many things that you really know nothing about. Is this how you rule Odin? By lying and manipulating?"

Odin was speechless so Merlin continued on, growing more serious every passing second.

"Let me make a few things clear to you, _sire._ I am _not_ here by choice. I was forced into this _thing_ around my neck, which is currently ripping me apart from the inside and out, and dragged here against my will. Destiny didn't bring me here, he did." Merlin said nodding his head towards Ricon who was still standing by his side.

"Now as for you being the once and future king… Don't make a fool of yourself Odin. You say that you will accept me and my kind and yet you told me just a minute ago how you have tortured druids for information. You are nothing but a hypocrite and a liar!

Arthur is a better king and a better man than you will ever be. And if you think I'm loyal to him only because I was told it was my destiny you are an even greater fool than I thought you were.

I am loyal to Arthur because he is a good man, because he has risked his life for me, just as I risk my life for him, and because he is my friend."

Merlin's voice echoed through the room. He bit down on the inside of his cheek and let out a pain filled groan.

The fog in Merlin's mind was growing thicker as the pain worsened. It was burning him, he felt as if someone had set his body on fire. But he still had one more thing he needed to say to the king sitting before him.

 _Just a little bit longer,_ he told himself again.

"I don't care if I have to live the rest of my life in the shadows. I don't care that he doesn't know all the times I have saved his life or all the sacrifices I've made for him." Merlin said through gritted teeth. "I would give my life for his in a heartbeat, so don't you think for one second that I would ever betray him to serve a snake like you!"

Merlin vision blurred and he felt how reality was slipping through his fingers. Before he lost himself in the pain once more he repeated the sentence he had said to the general when he and the knights first were captured.

"I will never serve you."

* * *

 **And there we have it! Hope you like it!**

 **Now, sadly, I caught a quite nasty cold, so my writing is a bit slower than usual, but no worries! It takes more than a cold to stop me from writing ;) I think next chapter will be posted on Sunday, but as usual I'll give you a chance to influence.**

 **So 15 reviews or more and I'll post the next chapter on Saturday!**

 **Once again, thank you guys, you are absolutely amazing! Until next time ;)**

 **Love,**

 **summergirl404**


	12. Chapter 12

**Again thank you all for all of your support and** **reviews! You are all amazing! Btw sorry for the poor grammar in the review response last chapter, I was really tired when I wrote it and I looked back at it a few days later and gosh it was horrible... Anyway I feel a whole lot better now, thank you for all the 'get well's you sent me! ;)**

 _ **Review response:**_

 _ **HiddenMagician:**_ **Thank you!** **I love Merlin!whump in general, so I know how you feel ;)**

 ** _Grell Phantomhive:_ Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your reviews always makes me smile! :D Yeah, I feel like Merlin is an extremely loyal character and I really wanted the knights to see just how loyal he is even though his secret is out, so this was kind of an important part of the story for me to write. I'm really happy you liked it!**

 ** _dandelionseeds: awww, thank you so much!_**

 ** _1Buffalos_ & _Guest (Because you both wrote pretty much the same thing ;)) :_ Thank you both for your tips! As I have said before english isn't my native language so yeah, I might make a few grammar mistakes here and there. ;) About the POV thing, I have considered marking when I change POVs, but I personally prefer it like this because I change between persons so much that I feel it would disturb the flow a bit. I will however mark when I change setting in the story. Again though, thank you for your tips and hope you'll keep enjoying the story** **! :)**

 _ **kracken96:**_ **Thank you so much for your kind words! At least one of your questions is going to be answered below... enjoy ;)**

 ** _Wicked Eyes:_ Thank you! Yeah, I know, he meant to be quite a bit annoying ;)**

 _ **KIMMIKY:**_ **I wish life was that easy... that would seriously have been awesome though ;) Thank you so much for your review!**

 _ **LittleDragon333:**_ **Hahaha, thank you so much! I'm so happy you're enjoying the story ;) Also thanks for the concern, I do feel a lot better now :)**

 ** _mersan123:_ As always, thank you for your kind words and your support ;)**

 **Now... please enjoy...**

* * *

Odin watched with growing anger as the sorcerer's eyes turned blank.

No one dared to move, not even Ricon, in fear of attracting the king's attention. The silence was almost too heavy to bear.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Odin hollered with furious voice as he rose from his throne and marched to where Merlin now sat motionless on the floor.

"How dare you speak to me like that you filthy little sorcerer!" Odin clenched his fist and punched Merlin hard across the face. The fist landed by Merlin's left cheekbone and his head snapped to side.

Merlin let out a pitiful groan but otherwise didn't respond to the punch. That only enhanced Odin's frustration.

This time Gwaine actually did take a step forward and Elyan was forced to forcefully pull him back. Thankfully Gwaine soon regained his senses and didn't put up a fight. He let Elyan pull him back, his eyes never leaving Merlin, and started cursing under his breath.

Elyan looked around and thanked God when he realized no one had seen them, everyone's attention was instead focused on the king and the sorcerer at the center of the room. Reluctantly he too turned his eyes to the commotion. He didn't want to watch this, but he knew they had to. Arthur needed to know exactly what Odin was doing to Merlin.

"You are pathetic! Do you hear me?! PATHETIC!" Odin shouted and took a rough hold of the black chain connected to the collar around Merlin's neck and dragged him back up again, as if he was disciplining an insubordinate dog.

"Your precious king doesn't care about you, to him you are nothing but a worthless servant! But that doesn't even matter anymore and do you know why, Emrys? Because you are _mine."_ The king had started grinning once more and now had a crazed glint in his eyes.

Odin ripped off his neckless where a certain key was hanging and proceeded to hold it before Merlin's unseeing eyes.

"See this, Emrys? Only I have the key to your freedom and unless you swear your allegiance to me, I swear to you, I will make sure you die the most gruesome death imaginable within these very walls."

Elyan and Gwaine's eyes widened at the sight of the key, but they were soon distracted again when Odin continued his rant.

"But don't trick yourself into thinking I will make it easy for you. No, no, no. I will make sure you suffer _every_ step of the way. You know you can't take this much longer, your mind is slipping away, sooner or later you're going to let your guard down and I will be there when you do!"

Odin put his key down in his pocket and gripped Merlin's chin harshly to bring his face up.

"Mark my words, Emrys," he hissed, "for I will not rest before I have found a way to make your power _mine_."

Odin let go of Merlin's chin, stood up and turned his attention to Ricon.

"I want him chained to the floor by the feet of my throne, so that he will learn his place." He said with malice as he glanced back down to Merlin. "This room will be guarded at all times by half a dozen guards on the inside and another four outside the door. Double the guards patrolling the nearby corridors, we are not taking any risks."

Ricon lowered his head and was just about to turn when Odin interrupted his actions.

"Bring me the girl too, we don't want him to lose his mind completely. Not yet anyway."

Once again Ricon turned away and started to make his way to the door.

"Just one more thing, general," Odin called, "if anything goes wrong, anything at all, I will personally see to your execution."

Ricin tensed, but otherwise hid his fear well. Instead of showing further emotions he turned to the six guards on the left side of the room.

"You!" He barked at them. "Stay here and make sure the sorcerer is secured until the chains are brought up."

He adverted his gaze to the two guards by the door. "You! Get me the chains!"

"And you four!" He said to the remaining guards, including Gwaine and Elyan. "Dismissed."

When Ricon was finished barking orders at his men he stormed out of the room, not looking back.

Gwaine and Elyan followed his suit as quickly as they deemed unsuspicious. They left the room in silence and kept walking for several long, agonizing minutes before they reached one of the castle's more deserted parts consisting of slim corridors and sharp turns.

Only when they reached a dead end in one of these slim corridors when they hadn't seen a guard in the last ten minutes Gwaine aloud himself to let out his frustration.

"That sick, sadistic bastard! When I get my hands on that snake I am going to make him regret the day he was born! I'm going to make him pay!" Gwaine's voice was gaining volume as he was pacing up and down the corridor with a murderous look in his eyes.

"Gwaine, I need you to calm down." Elyan tried with low voice. "We can't risk attracting attend…"

"Calm down?! You seriously expect me to calm down?!" Gwaine turned sharply and fixed his eyes on Elyan. "Did you not see what I just saw?! Or did you just happen to _forget_ that Merlin is practically, in this very moment, being tortured by that damned collar around his neck? Or that Odin intends to use him as some kind of magical slave against his will? Or that he was completely helpless while being beaten and abused and we stood by and did _nothing_?"

Gwaine's angry resolve broke and he looked, maybe for the very first time Elyan had every seen, utterly vulnerable.

"We did nothing." He repeated with a sad, soft voice.

Gwaine turned away again and dragged his hands through his hair. When he turned back the vulnerability was gone, replaced by pure rage.

"I will kill Odin for this." Gwaine growled.

Elyan kept quiet, not entirely sure Gwaine would listen to reason right now.

"Really, Elyan, how can you not be the least bit riled up?" Gwaine asked, agitated. "Do you even care about Merl…"

Elyan pushed Gwaine up the wall, efficiently cutting him off.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Gwaine." He hissed quietly. "Don't trick yourself into thinking you're the only one who cares about Merlin. Trust me I want Odin dead just as much as you do, but this is not the time to go about taking rash decisions. So I need you to _calm down_."

Elyan let go of Gwaine and took a few steps back. Gwaine took a deep breath. When he met Elyan's eyes again he had calmed down considerably.

"I'm sorry, Elyan. That was uncalled for."

"It's fine. I understand how you're feeling." Elyan sighed, relieved to be having a calm and collected conversation with Gwaine again.

Neither of the knights said anything for a couple of minutes, both trying to process and think through what had happened the last half hour. Behind them sunbeams had now found their way in through a window in the stone wall.

"How long till noon?" Gwaine suddenly asked.

"Judging by the sun's current position, I would say no more than one hour." Elyan answered and then put his hand on his forehead. "God, how are we going to tell Arthur?"

Now it was Gwaine's turn to be quiet. He knew, just as well as anyone else, that Arthur and Merlin cared deeply for each other. They sure didn't act like it sometimes, but deep down they were like brothers.

"There is no telling what his reaction will be," Elyan continued as he started pacing, "but my guess is that its going to be pretty damn similar to yours."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Gwaine said. "Right now we need get them in here, because we are not getting Merlin out on our own."

"Yeah, we need to get out of the castle and find that escape door through the outer wall."

For the first time since they had entered the throne room Gwaine actually smiled.

"Come on then," he said, "lets go invite our friends into this hellhole."

* * *

Half a mile away in a cave Leon sat, on alert, looking out among the trees, searching for unwanted guests. Behind him Arthur was lying on the floor in deep sleep.

Leon was, to say the least, relieved when Arthur finally had fallen asleep. The first few hours he had been restless, twisting and turning and murmuring. Leon had almost woken him several times fearing the reason for his restlessness might nightmares. He hadn't though, concluding all sleep, however restless, was too important to the king to be disturbed.

The sun had risen high on the sky by now and Leon knew noon wasn't far away.

With one last sweeping gaze through the trees he turned to the sleeping king. Leon knelt down by Arthur's side, lightly ceased one of his shoulders and shook it softly.

Arthur turned his back to Leon, with his eyes still shut, and started mumbling.

"Go away, Merlin. I want to sleep."

Leon tensed. "Arthur, it's Leon."

Arthur turned back to Leon and, in his sleep-drunken state, looked at him with confusion.

"Where's…" His question died out as realization hit him. He quickly adverted his eyes from Leon.

"Right." He mumbled under his breath.

Arthur stood up and brushed himself off. His gaze was immediately drawn to the cave opening and the light.

"How long till noon?" He asked hastily.

"About an hour." Leon answered.

"Anything new?"

"No, not that I know of."

Both their eyes snapped back to the opening as they heard an twig snap outside. Without even looking at each other they quickly stood on either side of the opening with swords in their hands.

They heard footsteps coming closer, then stopping right before the opening. Arthur cast Leon a glance and Leon gave a nod.

Arthur charged. His sword immediately clashed with another and then he looked up and couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Percival!" He said surprised.

"You're awake then." Percival smiled back. But his smile quickly faded and he turned serious.

He turned to look at Leon who now had come out of his hiding place.

"No sign of Elyan and Gwaine," Percival said, "we can only assume they haven't been able to free Merlin by themselves."

Leon and Percival both turned to Arthur, waiting for orders. Arthur tensed his jaw and met their eyes, now fully awake and determined.

"Well what are we waiting for?" He said. "Lets go give them a hand."

* * *

 **The knights are ready to take action, how will it go? Next chapter up on Thursday... Or Wednesday if you leave 15 reviews or more ;) Until then I h** **ope your all having a great couple of days!**

 **Love,**

 **summergirl404 ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi everyone!**

 **I am so terribly sorry that it's been so long! I have been really busy and this story just kept slipping away from me, but I haven't given up. I promise I will finish this! My inspiration is back, so enjoy!**

 **Thanks also to every single one of you who commented, seeing people still reading and commenting is truly what has made me continue, so again THANK YOU3**

 **Special thanks to: Supergurkan, Wolfy76398, Lexy, kracken96 and Grell Phantomhive**

 **Review respons in next chapter.**

* * *

Merlin felt a soft hand on his forehead and the agony pumping through his veins lessened. He blinked once and then again and found a blurry face looking down at him with concerned eyes.

The fog in his head cleared considerably, but the pain stayed with him. He soon realized his hands were no longer bound behind his back, but instead chained to the floor. He tried to fight the chains, but they wouldn't budge, only allowing his hands to move a few inches above the floor.

 _Emrys?_

The voice echoed through his head and Merlin looked back up to the young face hovering over him. A piece of cloth had been forced into her mouth and tied on the back of her head, preventing her from speaking, and her hands seemed to be shackled. Her shackles were however not fastened to the floor as Merlin's were, so she could move them without much trouble.

 _Luna?_

The girl sighed in relief.

 _Thank the old gods that you are alright. For a moment I thought…_ Her thought died out in Merlin's head and she lowered her head.

 _I'm still breathing, don't worry about me. I need you to promise me that you will save yourself if the chance is given, no matter if that means leaving me behind._

Luna looked at Merlin with wide eyes. She seemed reluctant to answer.

 _B-but your friends are coming for you, ri-right?_ She thought. _Can they not take me away from here as well?_

Merlin felt his jaws clench as he thought of Arthur and the knights. There really was no telling of how they would react to the grand reveal, for all he know Arthur hated him now.

That thought hurt him more than anything else had these last twenty-four hours. Because he had meant every word he said to Odin before, Merlin would gladly live in the shadows and receive no recognition whatsoever for everything he had done and sacrificed if it meant Arthur's safety, but he didn't know if he could live in a world where Arthur resented him for what he was.

Merlin had no idea whether the young king would save or abandon him here, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Luna how slim their chances really were. Instead he looked up at her tiredly and tried to give her a small smile.

 _Of course they are, of course they're coming for us._

But he wasn't quite sure he believed himself.

* * *

In the castle's outer reigns Gwaine and Elyan were making their way down corridors, hurrying to the part of the building where they had calculated to find the door leading through the outer wall.

The two quickly noticed how most of the guards seemed to be moving the opposite direction, to the castle's center.

"Must be making their way towards the throne room." Elyan whispered to Gwaine as were passed by another four guards.

Once the guards had made a turn, again leaving Gwaine and Elyan alone in the corridor, Gwaine walked up to a nearby window and gazed out, looking for anything that might indicate that they were getting closer to the passage. A smile grew on his face when he spotted a point where the castle and the outer wall seemed to be joined together, closer than he could have hoped for.

"Elyan, my friend," Gwaine said smiling without moving his eyes away, "I think we just found what we have been looking for."

With a look over his shoulder to insure himself they were still alone Elyan joined Gwaine by the window. Soon enough he too discovered what Gwaine had seen and felt a smile reach his lips as well.

He gave Gwaine a pat on the back and with a glance they were of again moving fast towards their goal. The sooner they could get the others in, the sooner they could be out of here.

Two left turns and a staircase later they found themselves by a thick looking tree door guarded by four men. Three locks where hanging on the the door, all made of strong metal, forged to be nearly unbreakable.

Elyan would have recognized the technique anywhere. Even crouching behind a wall a distance from the guards he could see two keys placed on the guards closest to the door. The keys were fastened in their belts, one key on each guard. The third key would be behind the door where another two guards probably were waiting.

It was a common tactic to use when a castle had such an obvious weak spot. The door infront of them wasn't the door through the outer wall, but it was the way to it. To get through this door they had to obtain the two keys from the guards on this side of the door as well as convince one of the guards on the other side of the door to slide the last key below the door.

"It's a good thing that you enjoy bad odds, Gwaine." Elyan whispered and turned back around the corner.

Gwaine, who had made the same observations Elyan had and had come to the same conclusions, simply chuckled quietly before answering with a bit of sarcasm.

"Come on, Elyan, where's your sense of adventure?"

"Lost it a few hours ago I'm afraid." Elyan replied. He took a deep breath before turning to Gwaine. "Thoughts?"

Peeking back around the wall for a second a thoughtful expression grew on his face.

"I'm not sure you're gonna like it."

Arthur, Percival and Leon had just reached the wall, sheltered by trees and bushes surrounding them. They could see the door, their way in. Arthur stared at it intensely. It seemed so close and yet so far away at the same time.

The minutes were passing slowly and the three were keeping their eyes on the door waiting for something, anything, to happen.

Arthur was growing anxious. For all they knew they could be waiting in vain, Gwaine and Elyan could have been found out. They could be dead. Maybe Merlin was dead too.

 _No!_ He couldn't think like that. The dreams he had this mornings had all consisted of different scenarios of their deaths. Mostly featuring Gwaine, Elyan and Merlin, he felt like he had seen every possible version of their deaths imaginable. He simply prayed to God that his nightmares wouldn't come true.

Arthur turned his eyes to the sky to look at the sun's current position, noon wasn't far away now.

"Come on, come on." Arthur mumbled as his eyes locked on the door once more.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Gwaine asked taking deep breath.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Giving each other one final nod they rounded the corner and approached the awaiting guards.

"King Odin has requested a guard exchange in the outer chamber." Gwaine's voice rang out through the corridor with confidence.

The guards by the door looked up in confusion. The guard closest to the knights turned to them and nodded in greeting, but the doubt lingered in his eyes.

"May I ask why the king has requested this exchange?"

"You must have heard of the king's new prisoner. Extra precautions are being taken to make the castle as safe as possible and our king deemed it wise to enforce certain guard exchanges to make sure the defense is at it's best." Gwaine's voice was cold and commanding in a way Elyan only heard him speak at rare occasions.

Still looking a bit unsure the guard paused. He glanced back at his fellows before letting his gaze return to the two newcomers.

Elyan held his breath.

"Of course," Gwaine continued, "you cloud go to king Odin to hear the order spoken from his lips, but considering the current situation I'm sure our king has more pressing matters at hand."

The guard looked as if he considered Gwaine's proposition for a moment before nodding and turning around. With a nod he urged the guard with the two keys to do as they said. The second guard gave a faint nod in return before reaching for the keys fastened on his belt. He unlocked the two first locks and then returned to his previous position.

Elyan didn't know how Gwaine had done it. He had no idea of how he had managed to keep his act together and play this role so damn well, but at this moment he only thanked God that he had.

One lock to go.

The first guard brought his fist to the door.

KNOCK KNOCK *pause* KNOCK *pause* KNOCK

Three eternal seconds later Elyan saw how the last key slid under the door. They were so close now. They guard picked up the key and turned back to Gwaine and Elyan. With a few strides he stood before them once more holding out the key with a guarded expression.

Gwaine reached forward to take the key. At that moment Gwaine felt as if nothing else mattered. This key was the first step in freeing Merlin, the first step in insuring that bastard king never lay a finger on him again, the first step in returning to Camelot as if non of this had ever happened. At that very moment he only had eyes for that key. So when the guards eyes adverted from his masked face and instead focused on something else, something far more risky, he didn't notice.

"That's quite a nice sword you have there." He said slowly with narrowed eyes.

It was as if time had stopped. Gwaine and the guard both had a hold of the key, neither planning on letting go. Gwaine had paled considerably and rambled curses through his head, because of course he should have covered up his sword. His sword which was of so much finer qualities than what a normal guard was equipped with. His sword which, if you looked a bit more closely, bore the Pendragon seal.

The three guards behind them looked on edge, clearly after sensing the tension which quickly had become so thick you would have been able to slice through it with a knife.

"My sword?" Gwaine managed to get out, his voice sounding far more strained than it had moments ago. "Oh, this sword? This isn't _my_ sword, well it is now, but it wasn't always my sword… I… ehh… I found it during a raid, laying by a dead knight and I thought I might have better use for it… so I just."

"And you thought it wise to own a sword which bears the Pendragon seal in the house of Odin?" The guard's knuckles grew white from clutching the key so hard.

Gwaine glanced down at the key and then back to the guards face.

"Well, when you put it like that." And with that Gwaine brought his hand down to the hilt of his sword and drew it with the speed and accuracy only a true knight possessed. Before the guard had blinked he had lost grip of the key and instead focused all his senses on the sword piercing his abdomen.

"It really is a nice sword, isn't it?" Gwaine said before pulling it out and letting the guard fall to the ground.

The three remanning guards, who had seemed to shocked to act, woke from their trans and raised their own swords and running towards Gwaine and Elyan. Without a word Elyan joined Gwaine and together they disposed of the enemy without much difficulty. Neither of them were remotely okay with how they had been defeated and captured the day before so really they had both been aching for a fight. Especially Gwaine, who finally was allowed to take some of his anger out on Merlin's abusers. The fight was over in less than a minute.

Breathing heavily Gwaine smiled and held up the remaning key.

"I can't believe that actually worked." he said still grinning.

Elyan returned the smile before nodding to the door. "It's not quite over yet I'm afraid."

"Right." Gwaine said and looked towards the door that was the only thing keeping the remaning knights out. "Time for a reunion, don't you think?"

Elyan kneeled down by the first guards body. "Definitely. We might need this though." Elyan held up a thick chain with a big key on it.

The smile grew on Gwaine's face. "I think you might be correct, my friend."

* * *

 **And that is it! For now of course, I think I might post next chapter on Friday or Saturday depending on if I can make the time or if you guys leave a bunch of reviews ;)** **Things are about to go down, I have it all planned out.**

 **I hope you all had a great christmas!**

 **Yours truly,**

 **summergirl404**


	14. Chapter 14

**Next chapter ready! Thanks everyone for reviews and follows**

 **Review respons:**

 _ **Berrybanana05:**_ **Gosh, thank you so much! Reviews like yours really mean a lot to me, hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well! :D**

 _ **SpnKs15:**_ **Haha and I thought I was the only one who liked my cliffhangers ;) Thank you very much, hope you'll like this too :)**

 _ **The-Hunters-Girl:**_ **Thank you very much! Enjoy! ;)**

 _ **Dudewheresmywand:**_

 **well! :)  
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 **Now enjoy... ;)**

* * *

"We have to get closer." Arthur whispered to Percival and Leon without removing his eyes from the door, their way into the castle. "When they open the door we need to get in as fast as possible." _If they open the door_ , Arthur thought to himself before quickly dismissing the thought. "We can't get caught. The less time that door is open the better."

Percival and Leon both nodded in agreement. Leon scanned the area before them. The three knights stood crouched at the edge of the forest, hidden behind trees and bushes, but between them and the castle itself was next to nothing except an open field. They weren't far away, but it would probably take them about twenty seconds to reach the door from where they were now. And Leon knew that in any other situation twenty seconds was no time at all, but this wasn't any other situation and now twenty seconds would be an eternity. Especially with a guard patrolling the wall.

"I completely agree with you, Arthur, but where will we take cover?" Leon's voice was low as he kept searching for a potential hiding place.

Arthur sighed deeply. "Do you trust me?"

Percival and Leon answered without hesitation. "Always." "Of course."

"Good, because this is going to sound crazy."

* * *

"So we just open the door and hope for the best?" Elyan asked Gwaine holding his sword in a firm grip.

"Do you have a better plan?" Gwaine replied walking forward to unlock the last lock.

They knew there was a high probability of there being two guards behind the door. Two lone guards were the only thing standing in their way of getting through the outer wall and bringing the other knights into the castle.

"I'll go frist." Elyan said. He hung the bigger key, the one presumably leading through the very last door, around his neck and readied himself.

Gwaine brought the third of the smaller keys to the last lock and with a confirming nod from Elyan he unlocked it and pushed the door open.

Elyan charged into the last chamber where one guard stood waiting for him. _One?_ Suspicious, but he quickly ignored the thought as his sword clashed with the guard's.

"Elyan!" Gwaine's yell echoed through the narrow tunnel, but there was barely time for Elyan to react. A second guard had come out from his hiding spot behind the door and attempted to strike Elyan down from behind. In the very last second Elyan almost managed to move out of the way… but not entirely. The sword grazed his shoulder and he let out a pained grunt.

Gwaine wasn't far behind and before the second guard had managed to raise his sword once more he was on the ground.

Despite the pain and the momentarily distraction Elyan had kept up with the first of the guards. Whatever advantages the guard had didn't matter, Elyan was a much stronger swordsman and in no time the guard had joined his colleague on the ground.

As soon as the guards had fallen Gwaine turned to Elyan. He took his helmet of and threw it away. Elyan did the same.

"Your arm?" he questioned.

"Can wait." Elyan answered, catching his breath. "Now open that God damn door."

Gwaine hurried to take the key from Elyan and pushed it into the keyhole. Closing his eyes he prayed to every God that would listen that this was the right key and that this would work.

He turned the key. The lock klicked. The door opened.

A smile grew on Gwaine's lips as he pushed the door open, carefully so that no one would notice. All of the sudden the door was forcefully pulled open, three figures hurried inside and shut the door behind them.

Panting the three turned around and Gwaine felt his smile grow even more.

"Am I happy to see you, mate!" Gwaine grinned as he walked up to Arthur and seized his arm in a brotherly greeting. Arthur returned his smile.

"What took you so long? We were starting to fear the worst." The question would have sounded serious without the relieved smile and humorous tone lingering in Arthur's voice.

"You're not getting rid of us that easily, princess." Gwaine answered with a wink. Arthur rolled his eyes, but smiled non the less.

Leon and Percival had both gone to Elyan to greet him and were now seeing to his wound.

Arthur was about to let go of Gwaine's arm when Gwaine's face fell and his grip hardened.

"Arthur… Merlin, he…" Gwaine started. Arthur's smile faded and his eyes turned fearful. "We saw him."

"He is alive then?" Arthur questioned with unmasked worry.

"Yeah, he's alive…" Arthur let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "But he doesn't look good."

With the worry still visible in his every expression Arthur urged Gwaine to go on. Gwaine tightened his jaw. How the hell was he going to tell Arthur what he and Elyan had witnessed in the throne room.

"Me and Elyan were called into the throne room by Ricon. Odin made him go get 'the sorcerer' and he came back dragging Merlin in by that damned collar." Gwaine took a deep breath and continued. "I've never seen him like that, Arthur. He looked lifeless in a way I never thought he could. He was white as a sheet, in so much pain and his mind seemed to be slipping away. And Odin… that snake treated him like his property, like his slave. It was the most revolting thing I've seen in my life."

Arthur was fighting hard to keep his calm facade, but Gwaine saw his eyes harden and he knew that Arthur longed to rip Odin apart just as much as he did himself.

"You need to tell me everything." Arthur's voice was as cold as ice.

Gwaine nodded, but turned to look at the others who seemed done caring for Elyan's wound. "I think everyone needs to hear this."

Arthur followed his gaze and nodded. "Is it safe to speak down here? Or do we need to move?"

"Odin is ordering the bigger part of his troops to the center of the building, so we should be okay here." Gwaine said. "But we still need to move soon Arthur, not for our own sake, but for Merlin's. I'm not sure how long he will survive in that collar and I'm not prepared to take any chances."

Arthur's expression turned grim. If Merlin didn't make it out of here he would never forgive himself.

* * *

Arthur and Gwaine joined the others. Leon, Elyan and Percival quieted down and everyone's eyes fell on Arthur.

"My friends, my brothers," Arthur started. "Once again we stand before what to many would seem an impossible task, but what others think impossible has never stopped us before. We are only halfway, but we will see this through. We will save Merlin, not only because each and every one of us owes it to him, but because he too is our brother."

Every one of the knights bore a resolute expression on their face.

"As we agreed before, any questions or complications will be resolved after we get Merlin out of here."

"Actually Arthur," Gwaine cut in, "I think we can answer some questions now."

So, with a nod from Arthur, Gwaine told them. He told them how Ricon had dragged Merlin into the throne room by his collar. He told them of Merlin's sarcastic remarks and the punishments he received for them. He told them of Odin's plan and what he had said about Arthur. And then he told them what Merlin had said about Arthur.

"Merlin was pretty clear with where his loyalty lies, Arthur, and it's with you. He told Odin that he would rather be your servant than rule himself, not because of destiny, but because he believes in the world you'll build and because you're his friend. He said that he didn't care if he had to live all his life in the shadows or if you never found out how many times he has saved you. He said that he would give his life for yours in a heartbeat."

Gwaine's eyes bore into Arthurs, getting the message through clearly.

 _If you hurt him after this…_

Arthur, who's expressionless facade had begun to crack, met Gwaine's eyes calmly. _I know, I won't. No one will ever hurt him on my watch again._

Gwaine at last told them how Merlin had went limp in his chains and how Odin had lost his temper. He told them them how Odin had beat Merlin and how he had threatened him to his life.

"He said that if Merlin wouldn't serve him he would make sure he died the most gruesome death imaginable, that he wouldn't rest before he'd found a way to make Merlin's power his and then he started ordering us around. He told Ricon to chain Merlin to the fot of his throne and then he told all the guards to start patrolling the corridors close to the castle's center. So Merlin will be in the throne room, there will be loads of guards patrolling the area and we will be heavily outnumbered… so what's our plan?"

Gwaine turned Arthur and the others did the same. Arthur glanced at the fallen guards lying before them.

"I think I have an idea." He said.

* * *

A few minutes later Leon, Percival and Arthur were wearing the guards' uniforms as well. They locked the outer door, but Arthur kept the key, it might very well be their only way out.

The guards were put in a pile in a corner in the inner chamber and the first door was closed, but not locked. Hopefully no one would come down here for now.

"Remember," Arthur said as they stared moving through the corridors, "our number one priority is freeing Merlin from the collar. Did you find the key?"

"Yes," Elyan answered, "If he hasn't move it since we saw him last it's in the right pocket on his coat. If he has moved it it's most likely hanging in a chain around his neck."

"Good. Gwaine and Elyan will lead the way to the throne room. When we get there, try to get to Odin. With him as hostage we might be able to get out of here, there is nothing he values more than his own life, he'd rather let us go than lose his own head. We keep up the pretense as long as possible."

Everyone nodded.

"Good luck, men."

And then they walked in silence. They traveled through the slim corridors and made their way to the center.

 _If this works it'll be a miracle,_ Leon thought as they walked. From what he had heard about Merlin's deeds this far he could only presume that a bit of magic often had a small role in their impossible escapes from the past. Now here they where, without any magical aid, trying to free a high priority prisoner from right under the nose of a power crazed king who would murder Arthur on the first chance he got. Impossible seemed to be an understatement, but he was pretty sure Arthur knew that.

And Arthur did. As they walked the lump in Arthur's stomach seemed to only grow bigger. This was a suicide mission, because getting in was one thing, but getting out was something else entirely. He tried to convince himself that this was for the good of Camelot, if he died he would bring Odin down with him and eliminate the threat. But deep down he knew that even though part of this was for the safety of his kingdom, the one he really did this for was none other than his manservant. Because he knew Merlin would have done the exact same thing if their positions had been reversed. And he probably had done already, only without Arthur knowing it.

Of course this had been a shock to him. It's not every day you find out that your servant and friend is some sort of all-powerful warlock and Arthur had doubted him and his intentions at first, mostly because he had constantly been told that magic was solely a force of evil. He was hurt that Merlin hadn't trusted him, but he understood.

He was pretty sure that he already had known what Gwaine had told him about Merlin's loyalty, but still it awoke feelings like pride and protectiveness to really hear it. He would get Merlin out of here if it was the last thing he did. They protect each other, that's what brothers do.

* * *

 **And there we are! They're in the castle, on the move... things are just about to get exiting, so hang in there!**

 **I'll be a bit preoccupied the next few days, so I think that I'll post the next chapter on the fifth, but if I get 20 reviews on this chapter I think I can manage to post the next on the fourth ;)**

 **Happy new year to everyone, 2017 on the way!**

 **Yours truly,**

 **summergirl404**


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